


Far Longer than Forever

by felicityollies



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Swan Princess (1994) Fusion, Angst with a Happy Ending, Animal Transformation, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, First Time, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Mild Smut, Modern Royalty, Physical Abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-09
Updated: 2017-04-12
Packaged: 2018-09-16 02:17:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 22,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9269258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/felicityollies/pseuds/felicityollies
Summary: A modern day story about two royals, a debt to be paid, and a curse that can only be lifted by true love.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> because swan princess is the best and it’s also fun to curse oliver

“Put down the computer, Felicity,” Donna’s voice pierced her ears.

Sighing, the eight year old put her tech down. It was that time to travel to the neighboring country to visit the Kingdom of Starling. She didn’t want to leave her home just to see some silly prince. Her mother had been preparing her for this forced meeting. It was good to be friendly with their neighbors. At least that’s what Donna said. Felicity wasn’t so sure. All she really wanted to do was stay in her room and work on her computers. They were much more interesting than boys, anyway.

“Felicity,” her mother snapped because she was moving too slowly.

“I’m coming,” she said with a pout on her lips.

She stood, smoothing out her puffy pink dress. It was an awful thing and she hated it, but her mother was insistent on her dressing nicely or as she put it, “You are a princess, Felicity, and you should dress like one.”

A short flight took them to Starling. She stood outside with her mother while they waited for the queen and her son to make an appearance. She fiddled with her dress and wondered what was taking so long. Wasn’t it rude to make guests wait? It didn’t take too much longer for her to find out why it was taking an eternity. Moira came out, pushing her son ahead of her. The other child seemed about as enthused about meeting her as she was him.

“Oliver,” she scolded him.

The boy stood up straight and looked to Felicity. She narrowed her eyes at him.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, princess Felicity,” he said, though his tone was less than pleased.

“Pleased to meet you as well, prince Oliver,” she curtsied.

He reached for her hand and with the most disgusted expression planted a kiss on top of it. She frowned deeper.

“Why don’t we let these two get to know each other?” Donna said to Moira.

The other woman nodded and the two began to walk away and towards the castle.

As soon as they were out of sight, she balled her hands into fists, looking at him as if she were ready to fight. He flinched away from her.

“Don’t kiss my hand again,” she stated firmly.

“I didn’t want to kiss your gross hand anyway!” he shouted.

She growled and ran at him, her tiny form toppling him over. “You’re gross!”

“Ahhh! She’s trying to kill me!” Oliver screamed.

“I am not!”

She barely got to say another word when to hands were grasping onto her arms and pulling her off of Oliver. The tiniest squeak left her lips, startled by the sudden interruption.

“Ollie you can’t just let a girl kill you,” another boy said.

“Let me go!” she struggled out of his grasp.

He was the same age as she and Oliver, maybe half an inch shorter the prince, and dark hair instead of blonde.

“Go away,” she spat.

“That’s no way to talk to the prince’s best friend,” he huffed.

“Thanks, Tommy,” Oliver brushed himself off and stood.

“Two against one, not fair!”

“You can have my sister,” Oliver laughed.

“She’s just a baby!” she pushed him in the chest.

Tommy pulled her hair.

“Ouch!” she screamed, turning and shoving her foot into his.

She shoved Oliver again and started to stomp away from the two. “I don’t want to play with you! I don’t like you at all!”

“I don’t like you either!” Oliver shouted back.

She turned around and stuck her tongue out at him.

* * *

Felicity sat across the table from Oliver and Tommy. There was a pile of chips between them and cards in their hands. They weren’t actually playing for any money, but if they were she would have stolen every dime from the two boys. With the best poker face she could manage, she displayed her hand, and won again.

“How do you keep doing that?” Oliver squeaked. He cleared his throat in an attempt to cover up the fact that his voice was changing.

She simply giggled.

“Do you have cards up your sleeves?” Tommy asked.

“I’m not wearing sleeves.”

“Under your skirt?”

“Touch me and die, Merlyn.”

“Not very princess like,” he started to say.

She stood and he quickly moved around to hide behind Oliver.

“Why do you do that? I’m not going to save you from her,” Oliver snarked.

She rolled her eyes at the thirteen year olds. They were so dumb and she really couldn’t understand how she was the same age as them. At least they got along better now than they did when they met. It took a great deal of time and there were still days that she would rather shove Oliver and Tommy’s faces in the dirt.

She wasn’t allowed to do that after Tommy accidentally snorted it up his nose. He claimed that there was a bug along with the dirt, but she didn’t believe that for a second. Maybe she was actually starting to like him, him being Oliver, after these past five years, but that was debatable. Tommy on the other hand, was just a pain in her butt.

“Well, I’m done for the day,” she said.

“What you afraid you’re gonna lose this time?” Tommy asked.

“Not hardly,” she snorted.

With a smirk, she turned away from them and walked out the door.

Oliver chased after her. “Where are you going?”

“Don’t you have a lesson to get to?” she asked instead of answering.

“Keeping tabs on me?” he gently nudged her.

“Yep, so I can make sure I know where not to be.”

He pouted at her just a little.

“What?” she raised a brow at him.

“Nothing.”

“Want me to come with you to your lesson?” she asked, “What is it today? Fencing? Horseback riding?”

“Archery.”

“Ah,” she nodded.

Part of her didn’t even know why she had offered to go. She did kind of like watching him. It was interesting from an anatomical and biological view point. That was exactly it. She walked with him towards the grounds where his tutor was waiting.

He was already very good. Oliver did better in his physical subjects than he did with the ones that required reading and writing. She knew he wasn’t stupid, but there was a problem with focusing on his work.

He picked up his bow and arrow, aimed, and fired with acute accuracy, hitting the bullseye on his target.

“Wanna try?” he asked, looking towards her.

“Um….no?” she shook her head.

“Chicken.”

She huffed and crossed her arms.

He made chicken noises at her.

“Alright! Jerk,” she glared at him and walked over to take the bow, pushing him a little out of the way.

Picking up an arrow, she clumsily knocked it and tried to imitate what he did. She tugged back as far as it would go and let go. The string of the bow snapped against her wrist harshly, while the arrow barely made it halfway towards the target.

She dropped the bow and swallowed back a handful of swear words. There was already a welt forming on her very red wrist.

“I’m going to go now,” she squeaked out the words.

Tears started to form in her eyes. She was both wounded and embarrassed.

“W-wait. I want to help you,” Oliver tried to get her to stay.

“No. Nope. That’s okay,” she walked faster until she was into the building and away from Oliver and his stupid bow and arrow.

* * *

“What are you doing?”

“Working.”

“Working on what?”

Felicity sighed and looked over her laptop at Oliver. “Coding.”

“What?” he moved to sit down next to her.

During her sixteen years of living, she had never let anyone sit down next to her while she was working.

“Looks like a bunch of numbers.”

“Yep.”

“But what is it for?”

“Programming.”

He turned his head to look at her with a confused expression.

“I’m making a computer program.”

“Like a game?”

“I can make games yes, but right now I’m working on a security program that I intend to use throughout the kingdom as means of protection.”

A look of understanding and maybe a little awe crossed his face. It made her feel kind of special and smart. Because she was.

“I uh… I made a game last year…” she closed out what she was working on and pulled up the little computer game. “Don’t laugh,” a blush spread across her cheeks.

The game was a pixelated 8-bit program. It was simple, but she liked it. The point of the game was to shoot arrows at a target and the player might have looked like a mini pixelated Oliver.

“Is that me?” he asked.

“Maybe,” she bit down on her lower lip.

She showed him how to play and then let him at it. He missed the first couple, but then he really got into it. When he won the first round the character cheered and did a little dance.

“That’s awesome,” Oliver smiled wide.

“R-really?”

“Yeah. How many people can say they have a game based on them.”

They looked each other in the eyes. His gaze flicking down to her lips for just a moment. She leaned in closer.

“Ollie! There you are!” Tommy’s voice rang through the library.

Oliver and Felicity pulled apart so fast she swore she got whiplash.

“Yep, I’m here,” he mumbled disappointedly.

“I better get out of here,” she closed her laptop and moved quickly, “I’ll see you at dinner.”

* * *

Two more years of almosts past. Almost kisses. Almost confessions. Two years of denying that there was anything there to begin with.

She didn’t know when it happened. When she stopped loathing the spoiled prince and actually began to care for him. It was more than caring at this point. The words never left either of their lips, but she loved him and she knew he felt the same way. It was the way that he pushed her to keep working on her computer. The way that he made her feel like she was more than just a princess. She knew she was of course, but he saw her as the smart, beautiful, and fun Felicity. Just like she saw him as more than a prince. He was kind, he was intelligent, and so much more than the future king of Starling. 

They were now eighteen and could legally marry and combine their kingdoms. Oliver and Moira were to travel to her home, so that he could ask her a very important question in front of the entire court. She had an inkling as to what he was going to ask, but she was trying not to get herself overly excited. It was hard not too. The feelings she had for him, the feelings she knew he reciprocated, she could feel them deep in her bones. There was something real and amazing between them. It had just taken them a long time to see it.

“His plane touched down,” she squealed from behind her tablet.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so excited to see Oliver,” Donna said.

She pressed her lips together for a moment. “I’m just… you know… shut up.”

Her mother laughed and shook her head. “You best change clothes and get ready to meet him downstairs.”

She waited for her mother to leave before diving into her closet. Instead of having one of the handmaidens dress her, she spent twenty minutes trying on various dresses herself. She hated having people help her anyway.

When she finally made her way downstairs, she wore a floor length dress in a rich green color. Her hair fell around her shoulders in soft curls. She bit her lip roughly. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest. She was both nervous and excited to finally tell him how she felt and get to hear it from him as well. It was a very important day.

She sat in the great hall with her mother and waited.

And waited.

She checked her tablet, looking to see if there was any problems at the airport. There wasn’t.

It was hours before she heard any news. The car that Oliver, Moira, and Thea had taken went off the road. By the time it had been found Oliver was missing and Moira, clutching her daughter protectively, was close to death.

 _“A debt… a monster…nothing is what it seems...”_ was all anyone could get out of Moira before she slipped away.

Thea didn’t have any answers either. The thirteen year old was knocked unconscious in the crash.

“But where’s Oliver?”

“I’m sorry, Princess, but we haven’t found anything.”

And they never did.

Instead of a possible wedding, Felicity attended a funeral for Oliver and Moira. She couldn’t believe he was gone. And she wouldn’t believe it. He had to be out there somewhere.

She held onto Thea’s hand. There was nowhere for her to go, so she would stay with her and Donna until she was old enough to reclaim her kingdom. Unless, Felicity could find her brother. Even has she threw dirt onto his empty coffin, she vowed to never stop looking. She was going to scour every inch of the planet with the help of her computers.

Oliver had to be somewhere. He couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and now we see Oliver's side of things
> 
> warning: character death & non-con kissing

“Dude, I knew you liked her.”

“Shut up,” Oliver shoved Tommy.

He laughed, “Seriously, I can’t believe it’s taken this long.”

“I haven’t even asked her yet,” he sighed, “She could still say no.”

Tommy rolled his eyes, “Please.”

He hated that he was so nervous about this, but he wanted to do it. There was no denying the fact that he had fallen head over heals in love with Felicity and he wanted her to be his queen. This was always meant to happen, he knew this, but somehow he thought it never would. They would plan their own destiny and their parents would just have to deal with it.

But now he believed that they had been fated to meet. Their parents might have pushed them together a little too soon, but he just knew that Felicity was supposed to be in his life. He looked down at the ring in his hand. It was old and had been in his family for generations. A large diamond, two stones on either side that were the lightest color of green, all set on a silver band that had recently been shined.

“She’s going to love it,” Tommy said, smacking his hand down on Oliver’s shoulder and giving a squeeze.

“I hope so,” he mumbled.

“And I’ll see you in a couple days to say I told you so,” his friend laughed.

Oliver rolled his eyes this time, but he had to admit that he was disappointed his best friend and hopefully future best man wasn’t going to be there for the big proposal.

The plane ride was long, but he knew he was just being impatient. He just wanted to get there and finally tell Felicity how he felt. It was stupid that it had taken so long for him to do so. Why did he wait? Why couldn’t he admit that he’d started having feelings for her when they were young. When he noticed her watching him during his practices and when he saw how passionate she was about her own hobbies… and the people of her kingdom. There were so many levels to Felicity Smoak and he loved every single one.

In the car on the way to the castle, he felt like he was going to explode. He wrung his hands together and let out a slow breath.

“It’s going to be okay,” Moira said with amusement in her voice.

She reached over and squeezed Oliver’s hand.

“She could say no,” Thea teased.

He pouted, but didn’t get to say anything back. A bright light filled the car just before the limousine was struck by another vehicle. It spun off the road and continued several yards downward. They were out of city limits, away from the traffic and other people.

He woke with a throbbing in his head. Sticky blood ran down his temple and cheek. “Mom,” he croaked.

He blinked his eyes, realizing he wasn’t even in the car anymore. “Thea?”

Pushing himself up, he groaned, feeling a sharp pain through his body.

“Oliver,” he finally heard his mother.

He turned towards her voice, blinking a few more times in an attempt to rid himself of blurry vision. His gaze fell onto his mother, holding his younger sister. He couldn’t tell if Thea was okay or not. His heart pounded hard in his chest loud enough for him to hear. He was so scared and hurt, but he needed to know if his mother and sister were okay. It didn’t matter if he had to crawl to them.

“Ah, ah, ah,” another female voice filled his ears. The woman grabbed his shirt like she was grabbing an animal by the scruff of the neck and tugged him backwards. “You stay here little prince.”

His head spun as he collapsed back onto the ground. He had to swallow back bile that had seeped into his throat. “Stop,” he choked out.

The woman walked towards his mother and sister. She stood tall in her blood red heels, walking with purpose.

“Moira,” she purred, “I bet you didn’t think you would hear from me again.”

“Mom,” he tried to move towards them again, but his head throbbed, causing a pain that churned his stomach, “Oh god.”

“Leave my children out of this,” Moira spoke.

“I’m not going to hurt them,” the other woman reached forward and took Moira’s chin between two fingers, “But you owe me a debt.”

“I don’t,” Moira spat.

Oliver couldn’t do anything, but lay where he was, watching and listening.

“You stole Robert from me… you stole my kingdom,” she let go of Moira and started to haul her hand back.

He swore that he saw claws in place of her once human nails, but he couldn’t be sure. “Leave them alone!” he managed to shout.

The woman chuckled, stilling her hand. If she did have claws they weren’t there anymore. “Like I said, I’m not going to hurt your children,” she started to say, “But you are another story.”

Her hand pressed hard into Moira’s chest, causing the older woman to gasp.

“No!” he tried to push through the pain and crawl, but he could barely move an inch.

“All of the oxygen is going to slowly leave your body, you will hang on your last breath, gasping for air until someone comes to find you,” she laughed, “The moment you and your daughter are found that final breath will fall from you lips and you will die.”

Moira gasped again.

“And I will finally have my kingdom.”

She walked away from Moira and Thea and turned towards Oliver. “You dear prince,” she said as she squated down to be level with him, “Are mine.”

“No,” he whispered.

“Oh yes,” she pressed her lips to Oliver’s.

He wanted to squirm away, but a sudden drowsiness hit him. His vision went black and a heaviness overtook him.

It was hours before he woke again. He blinked his eyes open, not feeling the pain that he had before, but the sadness in his chest was overwhelming. The flood of strange happenings came back to him. His mother was dying or dead and his sister was who knows what. And that woman. The things she said and did were both confusing and terrifying.

He shook his head and pushed himself up from where he was lying. If she had taken him, he needed to find out where he was, and get the hell out.

As he became more aware of his surroundings he realized that something wasn’t right. He was so low to the ground and everything seemed huge or he felt tiny. He attempted to push himself up to stand, but fell over immediately. Looking down at himself, he saw… fur and paws.

What.

He scrambled forward, seeing a pond just ahead of him. His body moved awkwardly as he tried to run. Down in the water he met his own gaze. His blue eyes were staring back at him, but that was not his face, this was not his body. He was a cat. A very small, black cat of all things.

He screamed, but the sound that filled his ears was more like a yowl.

“I see kitten is awake,” it was the woman from before.

“What did you do!?” he shouted, but of course it was only a series of meows.

“Awww,” she said in a mocking tone.

He growled at her.

She snorted, “Now that’s not going to get you anywhere with me,” she walked towards him and picked him up by the scruff of the neck.

He tried to claw at her, but it didn’t work.

“I’m Isabel, by the way.”

He hissed and puffed up his fur.

“I could change you back,” she said.

He slowly calmed. It had only been a few minutes of this, but he was already sick of it. He just wanted to be himself and go home. Didn’t he deserve to mourn his family? He had already lost his father, years ago, but now he lost his mother too. It was unfair.

“I’ll change you back _permanently_ if you agree to marry me,” an sickeningly even smirk tugged at her crimson lips.

Marry her? Was she kidding? He squirmed as much as he could in her grasp until she let him go. There was a moment of regret when he hit the ground with a thud. His little body shook with anger. How was this happening? All he had wanted to do was get to Felicity and ask her to marry him, but now he was stuck with this _witch_.

“Well, until you agree you’re going to stay that way,” she crossed her arms, “When the moon comes up you’ll be human for a few short hours,” she continued.

He perked up just a bit.

“But as soon as the sun rises it’s back to being a cat,” she chuckled darkly.

He suddenly had an idea of escape, but before he could even form it into a plan, she shook her head at him.

“You’ll only become human if you’re near me when the moon rises. If you’re not… well then you get to stay a cat all night too,” she looked so pleased with herself, “But if you stay here and decide you’re tired of being outside… you can always spend some time with me inside.”

He growled and turned away from her.

“So be it,” she walked away from him and towards her home, a large and very old brick building. “By the way,” she didn’t bother turning to look at him, “We are miles and miles and miles away from anyone else.”

He waited for her to disappear before slinking low to the ground. His chest ached with a sadness he could hardly describe. The heart so full of love shattered deep within his chest. He would never see his mother again. He might never see Thea, Felicity, or anyone again. The smallest cry left his mouth, but as soon as he started he couldn’t stop. Cries of sadness and longing filled the garden. But no one was around to hear or care.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i should say... tread lightly. this is a somewhat Isabel heavy chapter. 
> 
> warning: mental/psychological abuse

Night fell, plunging the world into darkness. As soon as the stars shined and the moon hung high, Oliver began to change. Surprisingly, it didn’t hurt like he expected it to. Then again he didn’t know a damn thing about magic. He had been pretty sure it wasn’t something that existed. Now he was really wishing that it didn’t. He sat on the ground, fully human again, but not knowing what to do. Obviously, he didn’t want to sit outside all night, but his only other option was going inside with Isabel.

_No way._

He pulled his legs close to his body and rest his chin on his knees. Sighing, he closed his eyes. None of this was fair. He was only eighteen years old and was supposed to be at home with Felicity. Was he ever going to see her again? Would he be able to tell her his feelings? At the moment everything seemed rather bleak.

“Kitten,” Isabel said in the most condescending tone.

He peered his eyes open and looked up at her.

“Are you giving me the silent treatment?” she chuckled.

He huffed and turned his gaze away. She moved closer, invading his personal bubble. Her leg brushing against his arm and she leaned in close. She dragged her long pointed nail down his cheek.

“You should respect your future wife a little more,” she hissed.

“I’m not going to marry you,” he spat.

“Hmm,” she leaned back and narrowed her eyes at him, “Why?”

“Because I don’t love you, I love Felicity and I want to marry her.”

“She doesn’t love you,” Isabel smirked.

“You don’t know anything,” he practically pouted.

“Oh, but Kitten I do,” she giggled again, “Everyone thinks you’re dead. It’s only a matter of time before she marries someone else.”

He swallowed thickly. Everyone thought he was dead?

“What happened to my mom and sister?” he asked.

“You know your mother died. You saw what I did,” she shook her head, “She is buried right next to your empty grave.”

His chest became heavy and he could feel tears welling up in his eyes.

“Your sister is alive and well, but she’s not of age yet. She can’t rule your kingdom…. but we can,” she squeezed his shoulder.

He flinched away from her. “You killed my mom why would I marry you?” he sniffled, “And you just said everything thinks I’m dead.”

“Yes, but imagine the homecoming… the lost prince arriving with his new queen.”

“But Felicity,” he mumbled.

“Is going to forget about you,” she sighed, “You know you’re incredibly handsome, but not very bright.”

“She won’t,” he stated firmly.

“She will and like I said, she’s going to marry someone else. Tommy perhaps? You can just see it can’t you? Lord Merlyn and Princess Felicity finding comfort in each other now that you’re dead. Or… maybe,” she chuckled, “They had already had plans of being together without you.”

He refused to listen to her. She was just trying to get into his head and hurt him. It was working.

“You’re a liar,” he wiped angry tears from his face.

She reached down and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at her. “I’ve been watching you and your kingdom for years. I know everything. You’re a fool to think that anyone ever cared about you.”

Her grip loosened, “But I’m different. I saved you from them. I care about you, Oliver.”

He looked into her dark eyes and swallowed.

“I would love you,” she whispered.

Her thumb moved over his bottom lip. He sniffled again as more tears rolled down his cheeks. No, he wasn’t going to listen to her. He couldn’t. Felicity and Tommy loved him. His family loved him.

“No.”

“No?” she pulled her hand back.

“No,” he looked away from her.

She huffed, “You’ll come around eventually, Kitten.”

He listened as she walked away and went back into the house. Never in his short eighteen years of life had he been so depressed. He shivered and held himself tighter. Closing his eyes again, he focused on his one goal; to see Felicity again. He didn’t believe that she didn’t love him or would forget about him. At least he was trying not to. He was so sad and vulnerable it was hard to keep those thoughts from penetrating the deepest parts of his mind.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, his stomach growled. He couldn’t remember the last time he had eaten. Everything was a blur.

Above him he heard a swoop, but didn’t pay any attention. He only looked when there was a thud beside him. Startled he jumped up, but saw that it was only a piece of fruit. He looked up, searching for where it had come from. There was a tree near him, but it didn’t have anything in it. He leaned down to pick up the apple; he wasn’t going to argue it. Sitting back down, he bit into the apple. Another swoop and a second apple was dropped. This time on his head.

“Ow,” he pouted, rubbing the spot.

He looked around, but still saw nothing. Part of him wondered if he had an apple wielding guardian angel. If magic existed there was no reason that angels and things like that couldn’t too. Anyway, at least he wasn’t going to starve that night, though he knew he needed more nutrition than just what fruit could offer.

It didn’t matter right now. He was just happy to have food. Everything else that was happening was such crap. He needed this one good thing. When he was finished he lay on the ground and closed his eyes. If he stayed awake any longer he was going to start questioning why he wasn’t inside in a warm bed. He knew for certain that he was going to have to share a bed with Isabel and that was not going to happen.

“Felicity is coming for me. She is,” he let out a shaky breath, “She has to.”

A few more tears and quiet sobs escaped him before he finally fell asleep.

* * *

It had only been about two days since Oliver had gone missing. She didn’t care if she had been standing there as they lowered his empty coffin. Didn’t care that they hadn’t found anything. She refused to believe that he was dead. Everyone jumped to the conclusion and she couldn’t understand why. There hadn’t even been an autopsy on Moira and the funeral had been put together hastily, only a day after the accident.

“You’re being paranoid, Felicity,” her mother said.

Sighing, she shook her head. “I’m not.”

“I know you’re mourning, but treating everyone like they’re a criminal is not going to bode well for you.”

“I’m not,” she repeated, “I just don’t understand.”

“No one wanted to show the queen or her son any disrespect. It was properly taken care of,” Donna sighed.

“You make it sound like it was just business, don’t you care?”

“Of course I do,” she seemed offended.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

Donna put her hands on her hips, “I think it’s time to step away from the computer and get some fresh air.” 

For once she agreed. She had spent hours trying to find any kind of security video of the accident. Any hint of who had done it. She’d even taken the license plate number from the other car and ran it through the system. It was stolen and a total dead end.

“Oh and Lord Merlyn is here to see you,” Donna added before leaving.

“Okay send him i-”

“Felicity,” Tommy interrupted and walked towards her.

He wrapped his arms around her and hugged tight. She sighed at the contact and hugged him back. He might have been a pain in the ass, but she did care about Tommy. Okay, she loved him like a damn brother she didn’t want or ask for. She and he had both just lost someone very important to them.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.

He pulled back and she could tell that he had been crying. “I should have been there with him,” he sniffed.

She shook her head, “You would have gotten hurt or died.”

“But maybe he would be here.”

A chirp in her window reminded her that she was about to go outside for some fresh air. Something that Tommy seemed to need too.

She took his hand, “Let’s go walk and talk.”

“I miss him,” he sighed as they walked around the gardens.

“I do too,” she squeezed his hand, “I don’t think he’s dead.”

“What?” Tommy blinked and looked at her.

“There was no body…. maybe I’m just being hopeful… or stupid, but I don’t think he’s gone.”

She thought that he was going to call her crazy. Or tell her to stop. He took so long replying it seemed like she had done the wrong thing.

“You really think this?” he asked, an ounce of hope in his own voice.

She nodded.

“Then I believe you,” he shook his head, “I need him back, so I’ll do anything I can to help.”

“Thank you,” she sniffled and flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, “I love you,” she said.

“I love you too,” he mumbled, squeezing her tight.

A shiver ran down her spine as she pulled back. She looked around, wondering why she suddenly felt uneasy.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah I just…. Yeah I’m fine.”

“Good,” he took her hand again, “Let’s get back inside.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all I’m going to say is that there’s no felicity this chapter, sorry!

Oliver sighed heavily as he looked down at his reflection. He was already tired of being outside and being a cat. The warmth of indoors, clean clothes, and real food were calling to him, but he couldn’t give into Isabel. He didn’t want to marry her. If there was only a way to get inside without agreeing to anything.

He was shaken from his thoughts when something swooped over the water. The black fur on his body stood up. Whatever creature it was swooped again, getting closer to him. He could only assume it was some big bird coming to take him away and eat him. God, he couldn’t die like that. He scrambled away from the water’s edge and towards a large bush. He dove under the greenery. His little heart pounded hard in his chest.

As if it couldn’t get any worse, a large bark came from behind him, startling him further. He shot out of the bush and ran into the large bird.

“Don’t eat me,” he squeaked out.

“Man,” it said, “I’m not going to eat you. That’s disgusting.”

He peered upward, having not been expecting the what appeared to be an owl to speak. “Wh-what?”

“Besides, why would I make sure you had food last night if I was gonna eat you today?”

Oliver rubbed the top of his head with his paw, “That was you?”

“Mhmm,” the owl ruffled his feathers, “The name is Diggle.”

Another bark came from behind. Without thinking he hid behind Diggle. He felt like the biggest baby, but what the hell was he supposed to do? There was much he could do in his current form.

“Rene,” Diggle squaked.

Oliver looked over to see a mangy dog. The thing wasn’t that much bigger than he was, but he had a loud mouth.

“We haven’t had any fresh meat in forever,” the dog known as Rene said.

Oliver slunk down low.

“Stop tryin’ to scare the kid,” Diggle moved so that his wing engulfed him and pulled him around front again, “This is Rene and don’t pay any attention to him.”

He felt so exposed now.

“You ain’t any fun,” Rene mumbled.

Diggle glared at him.

“What is going on?” Oliver asked quietly, “Are you people too?”

He didn’t think dogs could roll their eyes before, but he was apparently mistaken.

“Duh, we wouldn’t be talkin’ to you if we weren’t,” Rene scoffed.

“Oh, so other animals can’t talk?”

“This one is brilliant,” Rene continued.

Oliver pouted.

“Dude, leave him alone,” Diggle snapped.

With a heavy sigh the owl turned towards him again, “We can only understand each other because we’re all human and some magic bullshit. Isabel can understand us, but others can’t. I don’t even pretend to understand how all this works.”

None of this was making him feel any better. Not only did it make him feel that much more stupid, trying to figure everything out, but he had a sinking feeling of dread. If these two didn’t know anything about Isabel’s magic how was he going to figure it out.

“This is fantastic,” he slunk slow to the ground, his ears lay flat against his head.

“Hey, man, you can’t give up already,” Diggle said.

“Right, how long have you been here?” he asked.

Both of the other men weant quiet. Any hope that he was holding onto was quickly diminishing.

“It’s been awhile,” Dig sighed, “It’s hard to keep track of time like… this.”

“Why are you here?” he asked even quieter.

“Got in her way,” Rene growled, “She stole us away from our families.”

Yep, this was looking worse and worse the longer he talked to these guys. The eighteen year old just wanted to lie down and admit defeat, but he knew he couldn’t.

“Wait, why don’t you guys turn human at night?”

“Because we lost our human privileges,” Diggle huffed.

Oliver sighed.

“Listen, kid,” Rene said, “You’re not allowed to just crap out on us.”

His fur bristled. Even if he was a cat, he was still a prince, and that meant he wasn’t fond of being talked to like that.

“I’m not,” he stood up and hissed.

“Good.”

Diggled rolled his eyes. “Anyway,” he said, “We’re working on a plan.”

Oliver perked up a little, “A plan?”

Rene scoffed, “We barely have an idea of a plan.”

“I just need some way for Felicity to find me,” he sat back on his haunches, “She’s the smartest person I know. A wizard with technology,” he longed to see her again.

He missed her and everyone so much.

“Okay, loverboy,” Rene muttered.

His ears went flat with anger, “Don’t speak to me that way,” he hissed again.

Rene growled.

“Both of you two calm down,” Diggle flapped his wings, causing a rush of wind to

practically knock them over, “Fighting isn’t going to get anyone anywhere.”

Oliver huffed as he righted himself, “He started it.”

Rene glared at him.

“How do you plan on getting out of here if you two don’t stop?”

“There’s no plan. No idea. What are we going to do?” Oliver got loud this time.

They both looked at him with disappointment. As if they had been expecting him to come up with some great plan. He hung his head and sighed, realizing that he was indeed still a prince, but if he couldn’t even lead these two or stop his own petty fighting, how was he supposed to run a kingdom? He thought he was ready for this.

“I need some time to think,” he said, pulling away from the two of them.

He hid himself under the bush and looked towards the house. Isabel was inside, probably laughing evily or whatever witches do in their down time. His stomach grumbled as he tried to think of something, anything, that would be helpful. Nothing came. He was too tired, too hungry, too… everything. It was all part of her plan and he knew this, but he was already starting to feel so weak and pathetic.

He had to figure something out and soon.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [whispers] i am so sorry
> 
> warning: there’s a kiss a very brief one

"Anything?"

“Nothing,” Felicity sighed.

She and Tommy had been scouring the earth for any sign of Oliver. Well, Felicity had done most of the work, but she set up some simpler programs for Tommy to use. They used facial recognition software, tracked any lead that they could find, every single missing person that had been found was immediately sent to her inbox. She did anything she could think of, but in the last two weeks they had found a whole boat load of nothing.

“Shit,” Tommy slammed the laptop shut.

Felicity jumped a little before letting out a long sigh. It was seeming impossible. What if this was all for nothing? She didn’t want to believe it. How could she when there was hardly any evidence to support Oliver being dead? It just wasn't fair. They were just kids, only eighteen years old, trying to find a missing prince. Maybe they should just stop.

“I’m sorry,” he said, reaching over and squeezing her hand.

She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder. “Me too.”

Felicity didn’t want to let Oliver go. She never got the chance to tell him how she felt and never got a chance to even be with him as something more than friends. It wasn’t right to have to let go of something that she never had. But he was already gone, slipped right through her fingers, and there was nothing that she could do about it.

“We’ll find him,” Tommy said after a few moments of silence, “We have to.”

It was good to know that he still had hope. “Yeah,” she mumbled.

“Well, look at these two lovebirds!” Donna exclaimed, scaring the life out of both of them, “Hiding in the gardens again?”

She let go of Tommy’s hand, “Why do you have to say things like that?”

“You two haven’t left each other’s side in weeks, what is a mother supposed to think?”

“That I have friends?” Felicity exclaimed.

Tommy pushed himself up, “I’ll talk to you later,” he gripped onto his computer, “And I’ll let you know if uh… yeah…” he scrambled out of there and back towards the castle.

They had spent a lot of time together and he basically moved in with them. She was happy to have him there because they were both incredibly lonely. The castle was like a home for lost boys and girls with the way they were taking care of both Tommy and Thea.

“Why don’t you marry Thomas? He is a lord after all,” Donna crossed her arms in front of her chest as she spoke.

“Because I don’t love him that way,” she gave a frustrated sigh.

Her mother shook her head, “I know you don’t want to think about this, but you need to. You’re still in line for the throne and you need to find a suitable husband.”

She grimaced, “Why? You ran a country without a husband for years.”

“That’s different and you know it.”

Felicity sighed again and looked down at her hands and the laptop she held.

“It’s been almost three weeks since….” she trailed off, “It’s time to keep moving forward.”

It sounded cruel, but she knew her mother only wanted the best for her. Still, she didn’t want to even consider getting married to someone else.

“I’m going to throw you a party,” she continued.

“A party?”

“And we’ll invite all the suitable bachelors from around the world. You should be able to find someone then?”

“Do you expect me to fall in love in one night?” she asked.

“No, but it is a start,” Donna seemed all too happy with herself, “It’s going to take some time to prepare… I’d day two weeks?”

“Not enough time for me to mentally prepare,” Felicity muttered sarcastically.

She received a glare in response.

“This is serious, Felicity,” she said sternly, “You have a kingdom to run.”

“I know, I know,” she sighed yet again.

“Get cleaned up and put away your techie things,” Donna waved her hand dismissively.

Felicity simply nodded and gathered up her things. She placed her computer and tablet into her messenger bag before heading back towards the castle. Her mother was right behind her, making sure that she actually went to her room.

“I’m going,” she picked up the pace.

“Be ready for dinner within the hour!” Donna called after her.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Felicity rounded a corner and made her way down the corridor.

Just as she stepped foot into her room her phone started to vibrate in her bag. With a frown, she slid the thing from a pocket.

“Unknown caller…. no thanks,” she sent it straight to voicemail, “If someone really needs me they’ll leave a message.”

* * *

Oliver’s body shivered. He was human again, at least for the night. It was becoming more and more obvious that it was actually harder to switch back and forth. At least as a cat he was warm and had slightly more options in regards to food. As a human he was forced to face the night. Cold, hungry, dirty, and alone. He had Diggle and Rene, but it was different when he couldn’t actually communicate with them. Magic was confusing.

He closed his eyes and pulled his legs up close to his body. The sound of Isabel’s heels hitting the ground reached his ears a moment later.

“Oh Kitten, you look terrible,” she chuckled.

She walked towards him, leaning down and taking his chin between her thumb and forefinger. Her dark eyes looked right into his. He felt like she was peering into his soul. It was unnerving to say the least.

“Are you ready to come inside yet?”

Rene growled at her from a foot or so away. He had a feeling that Rene actually thought he was considering it. But maybe he was. He couldn’t help thinking about the warmth and food that awaited him in her home.

“Quiet!” she snapped at Rene. Her grip on his chin tightened as she forced him to keep his eyes on her, “You’re getting awful skinny, Kitten. You know that if you come inside I’ll feed you and take care of you.”

He swallowed thickly, “No,” he said in a hoarse whisper.

She scowled, “Why?”

“They’re coming for me,” he kept his voice low. He didn’t really know if he believed it anymore, but he wanted to.

“Who?” she let go of his face.

“Tommy and Felicity. They’ll come.”

She rolled her eyes at him, “They won’t. They've already forgotten about you.”

“No,” he got a little louder, “You don’t know anything.”

He tried to push himself up to his feet, but he was so tired and weak. Stumbling backwards, he fell onto his butt.

“I know everything. I know they barely waited two days after you were pronounced dead,” she faked a little pout, “A little birdie told me.”

Isabel waved her hand a small blue bird appeared in her hand, it immediately poofed into nothing but smoke. It swirled in her hand, forming what almost looked like a round mirror. An image of Tommy and Felicity appeared. They were outside her castle. He watched as they walked and talked.

_“He’s gone,” Felicity said._

_Tommy’s face seemed to light up as he said something to Felicity that was muted. A nod, a smile, and then she flung her arms around him._

_“I love you,” she said._

_“I love you too,” he replied._

Oliver felt his heart hit his stomach, “No no no! It’s not true!”

He couldn’t let Isabel play her mind games. This couldn’t be real. Tommy and Felicity both cared about him. They would never be happy that he was gone.

“You’re a liar!” he shouted as his eyes filled with tears.

She closed her hand and the smoke disappeared, “But I’m not.”

He couldn’t stop the tears once they started. The exhaustion he felt was too much. His emotions were running too high. The eighteen year old could barely handle it.

“Stop lying,” he choked out.

“Kitten,” she said in a sweet, soothing tone, “I would never lie to you. Not like your so called friends,” she reached towards him again, but this time he didn’t pull away. Both hands cupped his cheeks and wiped away tears. “Come inside with me.”

Rene barked and growled again. Isabel raised her hand, but Oliver grabbed it. She looked at him with eyes narrowed. He didn’t want Rene to get hurt, but he didn’t want to get hurt either. With as much strength as he could muster he tugged her closed until their lips met.

She pulled back after a moment, “You stink,” she giggled, “But I’ll take this as a yes. Come here my sweet kitten, I’m going to take care of you.”

There was a moment of hesitation. He trusted his friends, but what he just saw. God he couldn’t sort anything out anymore. What if it was real? What if he was supposed to give up? He’d already given her an answer, didn’t he? 

He let her help him to his feet. His heart was broken, his body sore and tired, but at least he wouldn’t have to sleep on the ground that night.

He glanced back and saw Diggle and Rene watching him leave. There was a pang of guilt in his stomach…. but he never signed up to be anyone’s hero.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> good things come to those who wait.... also two updates in one day! hollaaa
> 
> warning: more isabel being a gross manipulative jerk

Oliver walked into the house with Isabel. It was warm and welcoming. He found it weird considering how Isabel acted. Just a trick; it had to be. He swallowed thickly as he stepped further in. It didn’t feel right to be in there, but he was so hungry. Maybe he was just a coward… weak and unable to keep it together. He didn’t deserve to be king.

Her hand moved down his arm, “My sweet Kitten, what would you like to eat?”

Isabel’s attitude had taken such dramatic shift, it was confusing.

“I don’t know…” his tired brain searched for anything else to say, but nothing came.

“That’s alright,” she placed her hand on his cheek.

Her thumb gently glided across his cheekbone. It was the first affection he had felt in weeks, but he was trying not to give into her. She was evil, cruel, and didn’t actually care about him. He tried to tell himself over and over, but it was harder than it should have been. He craved attention, felt starved of it, and it was driving him crazy.

Was it the lack of attention that made him crazy? Or was it the complete exhaustion and starvation? Maybe he was just losing it in general.

“Or maybe you would like a shower first?” she offered.

He slowly nodded his head. She showed him up the stairs and into her bedroom. He could tell it was her room even in his exhausted state. It was full of reds and blacks, but there was something royal about it and he already knew that’s how she viewed herself. She led the way into the bathroom.

“I trust you can shower alone,” she quirked an eyebrow up at him.

He nodded again. His eyes stayed on her as she walked away. He did feel slightly nervous getting undressed, but he pushed the feeling away. Slipping his ratty and dirty clothes off, he stepped towards the shower. He cracked the water on high, letting the room fill with steam. When he finally stepped inside, he groaned at the feeling of the hot water pouring down his body. It pelted his aching muscles and god it felt good.

He leaned his hands on the shower wall just enjoying the sensation. How long he stood there, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that it felt good and he didn’t want it to stop. But finally, he did wash himself, scrubbing the grime off of him. It was only when the water started to go cold that he got out. He wrapped a towel around himself and went to grab his clothes, but they were gone. In their place, on the counter, were fresh clean clothes.

The nervousness he ignored earlier was back. Isabel had been in there, while he was showering, and he hadn’t even heard her. He swallowed thickly and decided to get dried and dressed as quickly as his body would move. There was a bit of awkward stumbling, but he couldn’t help it. He felt so heavy and weak.

The clothes fit perfectly, which was slightly unnerving. He again pushed his feelings aside and went down the stairs, slowly and carefully. A savory aroma wafted towards him when he hit the bottom step. His mouth watered as he followed the scent. Some kind of meat, a roasted vegetable, and bread. His stomach grumbled loudly. He could hardly remember the last time he’d eaten something that wasn’t a piece of fruit… or a bug. Oliver didn’t have the stomach to chase rodents when he was a cat, but bugs, though disgusting, were easy to catch.

Isabel smiled at him as he walked through the kitchen door. “Sit, eat, enjoy.”

He nodded, sitting down at the breakfast bar. She slid a plate with steak, potatoes, and a dinner roll with butter. There was a moment of hesitation, but she pushed it closer.

“Eat and then you may sleep.”

He picked up the fork and knife, digging into the food. Taking his time and savoring the food was not going to happen. No, he shoved the food into his mouth in a very unprincely manner. It didn’t take him very long to finish it at all. As soon as his plate was empty, she walked around and grabbed his hand, tugging him off the stool.

She took him back upstairs and told him to get into bed.

He sat down, looking up at her.

“You’re sleeping with me,” she stated firmly, “Do you understand?”

He nodded.

“Good,” she leaned in close, taking his chin into her hand. Her thumb moved across his lower lip, “I promise to take care of you, Oliver.”

He swallowed thickly.

“You look so exhausted,” she sighed, “Get some sleep.”

She let go of him and he crawled up further onto the bed. Did he want to sleep with her? No, but he desperately needed the sleep. He needed to lie in a bed with a warm blanket and not on a cold hard ground. Not with animals scurrying about and the wind howling. There had even been a couple nights it rained. He got under the covers and rest his head on the pillow. In a matter of seconds he was asleep.

When he woke the sun was shining brightly and he was still human. He almost didn’t care that he was. There was an ache in his chest, making him miserable. He remembered seeing Tommy and Felicity happy without him. Happy and in love. He remembered giving in to Isabel and kissing her. The mix of depression and nausea made him want to crawl into a hole. He stayed there in bed and wondered what the hell he was going to do now. Did he really believe what he saw? Did he really want to be in there with Isabel?

He loved Felicity so much and he loved Tommy too. There wasn’t a doubt in his mind about that. So… how could he believe what she showed him? He had really let everything get to him. The magic, the tiredness, hunger, and loneliness. He let it all get into his head. Let her get into his head and manipulate him.

“It’s not true. It’s not true,” he whispered to himself, “Tommy and Felicity love me.”

With a shaky breath he pushed himself up from the bed. Isabel wasn’t even in the room, thank god. He was about to leave the room when he noticed a phone plugged into the wall. It was just sitting there, not even hidden. Part of him worried that it was a trap, but he couldn’t pass it up. He dove for the thing and immediately searched his brain for Felicity’s number. In a haste he typed it in and waited for her to pick up.

She didn’t. It went straight to voicemail after one ring.

“No,” he whined quietly.

“Oliver are you up?” Isabel’s voice came from the stairs.

He fumbled with the thing as he ended the call before he could leave a message. Before she reached the door he deleted the most recent call and put it back where it was. As she swung the door open, he stepped towards it, yawning and running his fingers through his hair.

“You’ve been asleep for so long,” she said, “I’m glad you’re up.”

“Yeah….”

“Are you hungry?”

He shook his head. Too nauseated by what he had done and the conclusions he had jumped to. It didn’t help that he had slept side by side with the woman before him. He felt like he needed another shower.

“Mmm… alright,” she hummed, “I have some things to attend to, but if you need anything you know that I am right here.”

She tapped her lip and he knew exactly what she wanted. Without argument, he leaned down and pressed the tiniest peck to her lips. She smiled, pulling away and heading towards the door.

“There are more clothes in that dresser,” she pointed to one across the room.

“Thanks,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

He watched her leave, feeling thoroughly disgusted with himself. His eyes flickered to the phone again. She hadn’t noticed, hadn’t asked, and he was going to take it as a sign to try again. He tried several times before realizing that he had no idea what time it was where Felicity was. Hell, he had no idea where _he_ was at the moment.

Throughout the day, he wandered the house, looking for clues of where he was. He figured that Felicity could find him through the phone… somehow. Tracking and gps? He wasn’t really sure about all that stuff. When it came to the phone he was good at texting and fruit ninja. He found nothing in Isabel’s house. Everything was so neat and organized. It was almost too perfect to be real.

He found his way back to the bedroom and went for the phone again. Typing away quickly and then waiting impatiently. Voice mail again. As he was about to leave a message the door swung open.

“Help me…. help…. me,” he choked out.

She snatched the phone away from him and crushed it with her bare hand. He backed away from her and into the wall.

“Did you think I didn’t know you were playing with this?” she gestured to the broken pieces.

“Yes…” he answered honestly, “If you did know then why did you let me use it.” 

She shrugged, “Because I knew it wasn’t going to do you any good,” she looked more amused than anything, “Who were you calling?”

“Felicity,” he squeaked.

The amusement slowly drained from her features, “How many times do I have to tell you that she doesn’t love you? Do you need further proof?”

“I’m not believing any of your lies.”

“Then why didn’t she answer… I can only assume that you haven’t received any word from her.”

“I was just talking to her,” he lied.

She walked towards him and pressed a pointed nail into his chest, “I can see your lies as plain as day, Kitten.”

“I don’t know why she didn’t answer,” he whined.

“She. Doesn’t. Love. You,” she punctuated each word with a rough poke.

He winced, wondering if she was going to make him bleed.

“I promised to love you and care for you, but you betray me,” she tried to make him feel guilty _and it was working_.

He swallowed down the horrible feeling, “You just want my crown,” he croaked. 

“No, little prince, I want you,” she suddenly flattened her hand against his chest, touching and caressing up to his shoulder.

“No,” he said as firmly as he could manage.

He wasn’t going to let her bully him anymore.

She let out a sigh, “You are wasting your time, fighting with me. You know I’m the only one that is going to make you feel loved. Do I need to remind you of what Felicity and Tommy said? Or show you her mother finding those two _lovebirds_ together again… hiding their love from everyone in the gardens?”

_It’s not real. None of what she says is real. She’s a liar._

“They are awful, but I truly want you,” her hand cupped his cheek.

He swallowed hard.

“Kiss me,” she said, “Kiss me like you mean it and we can forget this ever happened. I will give you more food, warmth, and I will love you.”

He looked into her eyes and saw nothing. “No,” he shoved her backwards away from him. “No!” he repeated louder, “You don’t feel love. You don’t feel anything. You’re just a miserable old witch, trying to take my crown and my kingdom. I don’t love you and I never will.”

Isabel’s hand met his cheek, but instead of feeling a palm, he felt nails drag across his flesh. But he knew they weren’t nails. They were claws. She scratched him quickly and with enough force to whip his head to the side.

“Bite your tongue you ungrateful brat,” she growled.

He touched his cheek, feeling blood.

“If you’re not going to be in here with me as a human then you will be outside as a cat… there will be no changing back. You can suffer until you learn that I am your only option.”

He didn’t get a chance to say anything because his body started to change again. It was one of the least pleasant sensations. He shook his head and his body, getting used to the feeling over being so small again. She picked him up and raised him close to her face. He didn’t hesitate in going for her face, clawing and biting.

“So ill behaved today, Kitten,” she hissed.

He could see that he had actually gotten her. Point for Oliver.

She held him by the scruff and carried him outside. With far too much roughness, she threw him onto the ground. He landed hard, it hurt, but he didn’t break anything.

“When you’re ready to behave you can come back inside, until then,” she slammed the door.

Rene came bounding toward him, but he was not happy, “You left us,” he growled.

Oliver pushed himself to his feet, “But I’m back,” he snapped, his fur starting to stand on end.

“Traitor,” Rene spat, “Instead of coming up with a plan you went in there with her.”

“I called someone,” Oliver hissed, “I called Felicity.”

Rene seemed to calm slightly, “What?”

Diggle came down beside them, “You called someone?”

“I did, she didn’t answer, but I left a message… maybe she can find us.”

“You better hope so,” Rene snapped.

Oliver growled in response.

* * *

Felicity’s phone seemed to be going off constantly, but she just wasn’t in the mood to deal with whoever was calling her. With her luck it was some paparazzi bullcrap anyway.

She went to dinner, spent time with her mother, Thea, and Tommy, leaving her phone in her room, so she wasn’t bothered. It wasn’t until the next morning that she actually picked it up again.

“Now you leave a voicemail,” she muttered.

With a sigh she played it, there was a lot of silence, a bang, and then… “Help me…. help… me…”

“Oliver,” she whispered his name, “Oh god.”

It didn’t even feel real. His voice on her phone after weeks. Oliver had tried to call her and she ignored him. Any relief she felt was flooded out by guilt. If she had just answered. Now she had to hope that she could get information from the number. A location, a general idea of where he could be, the owner of the number, anything! God please let her skills come in use. Please.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i just felt like making a gif... enjoy? 
> 
> also tell me what you think!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> y’all i’ve been waiting so long to write this chapter i’m down right giddy
> 
> bonus: no warnings this time!

Two days after hearing Oliver’s voice on her phone, clear as crystal, she was leaving her kingdom in search of him. She hadn’t been able to find an exact location because the phone had been shut off or destroyed. But she was able to find a general area of where he was.

“Take me with you,” Tommy said as she packed her suitcase.

“No, you’re going to stay here and keep my mother and Thea company.”

He pouted at her, like that was going to work. She rolled her eyes.

“You’re a big boy.”

His pout slipped into a smirk for just a moment and he waggled his brows. She punched him square in the shoulder.

“Ouch,” he whined.

“Please,” she muttered, “You’re fine.”

“I’m pretty sure princesses aren’t supposed to punch….”

She balled her fist again, but he quickly put his hands up in surrender.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’ll stay here.”

“Good,” she shouldered her messenger bag and gripped onto her small suitcase..

He took a deep breath and reached out to touch her arm before she could leave. “Seriously, though Felicity…. bring our man back home.”

“I plan on it.”

In a private jet, she flew halfway across the world to a remote location that had been almost impossible to find on a map. It was weird to say the least. The plane landed a few miles from the actual location, but she couldn’t very well land in a field. She caught a ride down a dirt road in the direction she wanted to go. It was slow going. Every second she had to wait to start looking made her anxiety go up. She just wanted to find him.

When she finally arrived, she couldn’t get out of the vehicle fast enough. With a photo of Oliver pulled up on her phone, she started in a small village. Yes, a village. It made her think of Disney movies like Beauty and the Beast, but more modern. Barely.

“Have you seen this man?” she asked, holding up the phone to anyone she passed.

No one seemed to be able to help. No one even really wanted to talk to her. The longer she walked through the village, the more frustrated she became.

“Fine,” she kicked the dirt.

She gripped onto her phone with one hand and her messenger bag, hanging on her shoulder with the other. If no one was going to help her then it was time to get down and dirty on her own. She walked past the village and into a wooded area. Pausing for a moment, she checked her phone to make sure she was still on the right path. There was still a lot of area to cover according to the gps. It was going to take forever all on her own, but she knew she could do it. She had to. Maybe it was dangerous to be out there without so much as a bodyguard, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want to alert anyone to her plans. God knows that if her mother got a whiff of what she was doing that would be the end of it.

She and Tommy were still the only ones that believed Oliver to be alive. Donna was still planning a giant bash for suitors to come and try to win her heart. The thought made her want to vomit.

Felicity sighed as she trudged onward. She called out his name every few minutes. The hours ticked by and still she found nothing. She was so tired and hot; and beginning to wonder if she was a damn idiot. What if it was a prank? But how could they get their voice to sound so much like Oliver’s? And why would anyone out here want to hurt her anyway?

What the hell was going on?

She gave a frustrated scream and kicked at the ground again. There was still a lot of ground to cover. No time to give up. She walked for another hour or so before stopping to take a break. Sitting down on a stump, she dug out a bottle of water and some cheese crackers.

“This is a terrible lunch,” she mumbled to herself.

She nibbled on the crackers before taking a few sips of water. Capping the water bottle, she moved to put it down on the ground. She flipped through her photos again, looking at a particularly goofy one of Oliver and Tommy. Sighing, she swiped until her favorite photo came up. It was one of those moments that he didn’t know she was looking. An adorable and intense look on his face as he read one of his favorite books.

There was a rustle in the grass in front of her. She stilled, wondering what the hell was going to happen now. A small and very dirty looking dog popped up out of the grass.

She squeaked out of surprise, but calmed as soon as she saw what it was. “Oh, you’re cute,” she said.

It wagged it’s tail at her and walked forward.

“You haven’t happened to see this guy anywhere?” she asked the pup as she showed him the picture.

For a second, she thought the dog was actually looking at the picture, but no. It snatched her phone right from her hand and took off in the other direction.

“Hey! Wait,” she shoved her crackers and water into her bag as quickly as she could, “Of all the things to happen today!”

She ran in the same direction the dog had gone, finding him quickly. It sat on it’s haunches, staring at her. She walked towards the dog, but didn’t get very close before it took off again.

“Come on!”

This happened several times. She didn’t understand what this dog was doing. It was either teasing her or taking her somewhere, but she was more inclined to believe the teasing. Then again she was talking about a dog here.

After what seemed like an eternity, the mutt tossed her phone near a pond. She gasped loudly, watching as it slid across the dirt and towards the water.

“Shit!” she ran as fast as she could.

* * *

Oliver thought Felicity would get there faster. It had only been a few days, so he was being entirely impatient, but could anyone blame him. In the last three days he’d been rained on, covered in mud, and had gotten into more than a few fights with Rene. Diggle was completely done with the both of them.

“Are you still bitter that I thought of a better plan than you?” he huffed.

“No, I know I thought of that first and you just ignored me,” Rene growled.

Oliver hissed, “You did not. If you didn’t you wouldn’t have been pissed at me for leaving you.”

Diggle’s feathers ruffled, “You both need to stop. It doesn’t matter anymore. Your Felicity is on her way and we’re going to get out of here.”

“How do we know that he’s actually going to follow through and fix this?” Rene snapped.

“I will! I just need to get home first.”

“Because you’re gonna get a lot of shit done in the body of a cat.”

Oliver hissed and spit while Rene growled and snapped.

“Oliver!” a woman’s voice rang out through the area.

It was Felicity. He knew that voice anywhere.

“It’s her!” he turned his head towards where her voice came from.

“Well fuck,” Rene muttered.

“Go, we need to do this fast before Isabel wises up,” Oliver said, “Go fetch her.”

He could tell that Rene was holding back a snarl when he took off towards Felicity. All he could do now was wait for the plan to unfold. Isabel hadn’t paid attention to him since she threw him out. She’d barely made any appearance at all. It was unnerving, but they couldn’t spend more than a minute thinking about that. While Rene was working on bringing Felicity to them, Diggle was standing, flying, watch. He had his eyes on Isabel.

“She’s still in her study,” Diggle swooped down close to Oliver so he could hear before flying back up to the house.

Oliver’s heart hammered against his chest. He was so scared that this wasn’t going to work. Or worse that he was dragging Felicity into his hell. He would never forgive himself if Isabel got her hands on Felicity.

The sound of a thud and a skid, followed by her shout, startled him out of his thoughts. He dove in front of the phone, using his tiny body to block it from getting in the water. His eyes moved upward to Diggle. The owl wasn’t wavering any, which meant Isabel must not have heard them. Thank god.

“I think I’m suddenly a cat person,” Felicity said, reaching down to grab her phone, “Ew,” she wiped it off on her pant leg.

Oliver looked up at her with wide eyes. It was so weird to see her from this view. So tall, but also just as beautiful as he remembered.

“I have no idea where that dog went, but you are a little savior,” she petted the top of his head, “And you’re filthy.”

“Felicity,” he tried to say, “It’s me, It’s Oliver.”

All she heard was a series of high pitched meows.

“God you’re so cute,” she sighed, “The most beautiful blue eyes,” she petted his head again.

“Take me, take me home!” he meowed even louder.

She scooped him up into her arms, “You really do need a bath. Good lord, buddy.”

He rubbed his head against her chin.

“Okaaaaay,” she laughed, “But I should ask someone about you first…” she turned towards the house.

He felt a rush of panic. “No no no no!” he kept shouting.

Rene barked from somewhere near by and then Diggle swooped down. He grabbed onto her hair and tugged.

“Holy crap!” she swatted at Dig.

He came back at her and she took the hint. Felicity started to run out of there away from the bird and the crazy dog. She held him against her chest as she ran. He only got jostled around a little, but he didn’t even care. She was holding him. He was going to get to go home. It seemed like she had run a good distance before she stopped.

He could feel her chest moving up and down against him; he was trying really hard not to notice it, though. She caught her breath and let out a soft sigh.

“It looks like I’ll have to continue my search tomorrow… and you get to go in my bag for now,” she placed him inside the messenger bag while she gripped onto her phone.

He leaned up as much as he could to peek out of the bag. His eyes watched the world ahead of them. It took awhile, a lot of twists, and turns before she found her way to the village again. He didn’t even know that there was a village near by. Well, he didn’t even know where the hell he was.

“Shit,” Felicity whispered.

He leaned out, trying to see what she was seeing, but nothing.

“Mom? Stop yelling…. Mom!”

She was on the phone. He ducked back down in the bag, listening to her argue with her mom.

“I’m not stuck on a fantasy, he’s out here somewhere I know it!” her voice cracked.

He wanted so badly for her to be able to understand him, to know that he was okay. At least now he was.

“I… alright. I know I have to think of the kingdom… I know! I just miss him so much.”

Oliver’s heart ached for her. He missed her too. All he wanted to do was hold her and tell her how much he loved her.

“I’m coming home,” she said quietly, “I’ll be there by morning.”

The plane ride home was kind of quiet. She fed him some cheese crackers and gave him some water, but she stopped talking. Never in the entire time that he had known her had she been so quiet. He couldn’t believe that even for a moment he thought this woman had betrayed him. This was not someone that was happy and in love with another person. She was heartbroken and lonely. The woman he saw in the woods, so hopeful, was gone. She took him in her arms again and moved to lie down.

“We’ll be home soon,” she said softly to him.

Her thumb moved over his cheek. With a sigh, she opened her mouth to speak again, “Your eyes remind me of someone I love.”

His heart skipped a beat. “I love you too,” he said, rubbing his head on her hand, “I love you. Please hear me,” he cried.

He was so angry his little body shook. Isabel had not only trapped him in this form, but taken his voice from him. He hated her more than he ever thought he could hate another human. But she wasn’t even human. There was something wrong with her. She was a witch, but there was something more.

“Don’t be upset,” she sighed, “How about a nap before we land?” she barely got the words out when a yawn escaped her lips.

He sighed, curling up on her stomach. She was warm and comforting, so it took no time at all for him to fall asleep. His dreams, as they had been for awhile, turned to nightmares. Claws and darkness. Terrible red eyes and a hand wrapped around his throat.

He woke with a start, his chest heaving up and down. For a moment he had no idea where he was and worried that he had dreamed up Felicity finding him. Blinking a couple of times he whipped his head around, looking for her. When he finally saw her, he let out the slowest breath. It was real. She was here. He was safe. The words repeated in his head.

“Hey, you,” she picked him up, “We’re here,” the sadness in her voice made his chest tighten. She placed him in her bag again, “Don’t want mom seeing you yet, she’s already pissed enough.”

He laid down and stayed quiet. It was quiet for several minutes before he heard Donna’s voice.

“I can’t believe you,” she hissed, “I was so worried…. and you were off trying to find him. Felicity,” she gave a long sigh.

“I know, you already gave me the talk on the phone,” she gave her own sigh.

“Then say it,” Donna pressed.

Felicity let out another shaky breath, “He’s gone… and it’s time to move on.”

“I know you’re angry with me, but I promise you that it will get better.”

Oliver knew that Donna meant well, but it sucked to hear everything she had to say. Everyone thought he was dead. It was a scary thought, really. He didn’t want to believe it, but here it was. Proof that the world had gone on without him. At least Felicity hadn’t let go.

“I’m going to my room,” Felicity said, “I’m tired and I want a shower.”

“I’m having food sent up,” Donna said.

“Uh… send some tuna then.”

“Oh… okay,” her mother sounded confused, “I thought you didn’t like tuna.”

Felicity stopped moving, “Add some pasta in case I change my mind.”

Her movements quickened. He wondered why she seemed not to be eating much. The crackers and then not even asking for food of her own. She was a person that liked her food, but now? If this had anything to do with him…. His ears drooped as he lie at the bottom of the bag. He hoped that they could fix this and soon. Not just for his sake, but for hers as well.

In her room, she set down the bag and he crawled out.

“First things first little man…. at least I think that’s what you are… I didn’t look,” she muttered, mostly to herself.

He huffed at her, sticking his nose up in the air.

“I’ll take that as you are a boy,” she picked him up and took him into her bathroom.

Felicity carried him to the sink, setting him inside. She grabbed onto her coconut shampoo before standing in front of the sink. He kept his eyes on her. Honestly, he hadn’t expected her to follow through on her promise of a bath. She turned the water on and he was immediately hit with cold water. He yowled, trying to claw his way out of the sink.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, picking him up and changing the setting, “There, that’s better.”

She dipped him back under. The warm water poured over him. It felt so much better, but he wasn’t sure he liked the feeling of being manhandled. His toes barely touched the bottom of the sink as she held him at his middle.

“Felicity,” he whined, “Felicity I don’t like this,” he continued to meow.

“You’re okay,” she said, running her fingers over his back.

With a little shampoo in her hand, she started to massage it into his body. Slowly, he calmed down. She was so gentle and made him feel so good that he couldn’t stop the natural reaction that followed.

He purred. A deep sound rumbled in his chest. The happy sound filled both their ears. He couldn’t bring himself to be embarrassed about the sound. It truly represented the contentment he felt in that moment. Her warm hands on him, lovingly helping him get clean. There was nothing but love.

“Aww see you just needed someone to take care of you.”

“Only you,” he mewed quietly.

He relaxed in her grasp while she finished washing him up. There might have been a few times when he nearly fell asleep, but it was the first time in a month that he had been able to put his guard down. When she was finished, she tugged him out of the sink, and wrapped him in a warm towel. His purring only got louder as she held him close.

The door to her room opened up. She tensed as if they had just gotten caught. 

“Felicity?” it was Tommy’s voice at filled his ears.

“Tommy!” he meowed loudly.

“Shhhh,” Felicity hushed him.

He couldn’t help himself. Tommy was his best friend, his brother, and he missed him so much.

“Felicity?” Tommy repeated as he walked further into the room, “I intercepted the staff on their way up with your food. I gotta say this is a really weird combo.”

She sighed and walked into the bedroom, holding him a little tighter.

“Is that a cat?”

“Yes,” she mumbled.

“Well, the tuna makes sense now….”

He sat down on her bed and she moved to join him. A silence fell between them that was only interrupted by Oliver’s purrs.

“Are you mad?” she asked quietly.

“No,” he sighed, “It’s not your fault.”

The sadness weighed down on both of them.

“I want to find him….”

“I know,” she sighed heavily, “But.. I walked for miles… there was nothing there. No one had seen him.”

He looked up at Tommy, glassy eyes, and dark circles. Why couldn’t he just turn back and hug them both?

Tommy cleared his throat, “So… uh the cat…” he gestured to him.

“I found him… he saved my phone. Dove right in front of it after a dog tried to throw it in a pond.”

“You know how crazy that sounds, right?” he gave a weak laugh.

“Yeah, but it did happen.”

“Why’d you keep him?”

Oliver looked to Felicity, watching her face.

“Something about him drew me in,” she pressed her lips together, “It’s probably stupid, but he just reminds me of,” she lifted up the towel.

He poked his head out further, meeting his friend’s gaze.

“It’s a little weird,” Tommy said, scratching Oliver’s head, “But he’s cute… even though he’s got that drowned rat vibe right now.”

Oliver reached out and bit his finger. “I do not,” he said.

Felicity laughed.

Tommy huffed, rubbing his finger. “Not like you can understand me, brat.”

He meowed loudly again.

“Maybe he does,” Felicity teased.

“I do, I do!” his little meow came out softer.

“Weird,” Tommy muttered again.

She pushed herself up and took him to the bathroom again. “I’m going to finish drying him off… you can have the pasta.”

“Still skipping meals?”

“Just not hungry,” she sighed.

She set him down, grabbing her hair dryer. He looked up at her face, noting that she did look thinner. When he first saw her, he hadn’t noticed; he had been too excited to see her. But now in the light of her bathroom, he could see she was losing weight. His stomach twisted into worried knots.

Felicity pulled him from the towels and started up the hair dryer. She blew warm air on him gently. He sat still, though all he wanted was to climb into her arms again. Wanted to let her know that things were going to be okay. He had to believe that and he needed her to believe it too. Did he know how to get the hell out of this form? No, but he was going to figure it out.

His fur poofed up after awhile. He was dry and warm and that was all that mattered. She picked him up again, setting him by the bowl of tuna. He looked at it, licking his lips, but walked to the pasta. He looked at it and then at her and back and forth again.

She blinked at him, not seeming to get it.

He sighed, picking up the fork with his teeth and setting it down in her lap.

“He wants you to eat,” Tommy said.

“I see that.”

“Where did you find this cat again?”

“On the other side of the planet,” she picked up the fork, “If I take a bite will you eat your own food? I don’t want you to starve, ya know.”

Oliver walked back to his bowl, watching her intently. He wasn’t going to let her skip this meal. Or any meals. She took a bite of her pasta and set the fork down. He leaned down into the bowl, taking a bite of the tuna, so happy to have actual food again. But he stopped and looked up at her again, waiting for her to take another bite.

“That is the strangest cat I have ever seen,” Tommy muttered.

Felicity took another bite and watched him do the same, “Seriously.”

“Definitely keep him.”

“Like I’m going to give up that cute face.”

They went back and forth, taking bites until she couldn’t eat anymore. He sat back, licking his chops. His stomach was full and so was hers. It made him feel a thousand times better to know that he could get her to eat.

“What are you going to name him?”

“Aero?” she shrugged.

“Aero?” he repeated.

“Well… he was really _aerodynamic_ flying through the air to get my phone.”

Tommy rolled his eyes, “How about I take these plates out of here and you get some sleep, weirdo.”

“You’re weird,” she muttered, “But thank you.”

They hugged and Tommy left. Oliver yawned and walked towards the large pillows. When he looked up, Felicity was taking off her clothes. His eyes went wide, but he quickly covered them. There was a part of him that wanted to see, but it felt so wrong.

“Are you covering your eyes?” she laughed, “What a polite…. and very strange cat.”

He wondered how long it was going to take them to figure out that he wasn’t just a cat. Magic was a hard thing to accept. He knew this first hand. If you didn’t want to see it, then you were going to see it. He was thrown into it and forced to believe, but Felicity and Tommy? They were wearing blinders.

She climbed into bed, shifting it and making him move. He looked up at her, all bundled in her fuzzy purple pajamas. She was stunning. Always had been. The lights went off and she laid down. He climbed up on top of her, curling up on her stomach to sleep again. She scratched his head, letting out a content sigh.

“Do you think Aero is a good name? Or do you already have one?”

“I do and you know it, but Aero is better than nothing,” he gave a string of soft and sleepy meows.

“You’re so talkative,” she laughed sleepily, “Good night, Aero.”

She scratched his head again.

Purring loudly, he tried to say, “Good night, Felicity.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what y'all think!
> 
> tumblr: feliclityollies  
> twitter: gothlicitys


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can feel the end getting closer... it's so sad.

Three days had gone by since Felicity found him. He had made zero progress in trying to get her to realize he wasn’t a simple stray cat. It was a lot harder than he thought it was going to be. She kept him in her room for the most part. He was happy to be in her company again, but it was driving him crazy that she wouldn’t listen. Nothing worked. He tried scratching a message into the wood of her bed, only to get scolded like a child. Oliver tried typing out a message on her computer, but she shooed him away.

Today, he was determined to get her to understand. He knocked over a picture of himself off her dresser.

“Dammit, Aero,” she muttered, “You could have broke that.”

She lifted it up and looked at it for a moment before setting it down. He growled a little and hopped from the dresser to her bed and then to the floor.

“Where are you going?” she hissed.

He ran towards her door, squeezing his tiny self under it. It was a lot of effort to get under there and for a second he thought he was going to get stuck, but he wiggled through to the hallway. He waited a moment to make sure that she was following. When the door swung open he scrambled away from her. He hadn’t been the cause of her irritation in a long time. It made him a little nostalgic.

Quickly, he ran down the hall towards the room he used to stay in when he visited. He squeezed himself under that door as well.

“Why?” Felicity whined.

She opened up the door, following him inside. He climbed into a motorcycle helmet that he’d left behind and stared out at her. She stood in front of him, crossing her arms.

“Now you’re just trying to cute your way out of trouble, sir,” she rolled her eyes. 

He deflated and got out of the helmet. There were a million other things he could point at in the room, but none of it was going to do the trick. Felicity was so smart, but she just couldn’t see what was right in front of her. He lay on the bed, looking up at her with big sad eyes.

“What’s gotten into you?” she asked, sitting down beside him. She sighed, “There really is something weird about you, ya know?”

Looking around the room, she let out an even longer sigh. Her gaze fell on a quiver full of arrows that he used to use for practice.

“I practiced,” she said, “I never got to tell him, but… after I left a nasty welt on my wrist I tried again…. and again. I wanted to be good and not feel stupid for embarrassing myself in front of him.”

He remembered the day in question. When he goaded her into attempting archery. He felt bad when she hurt herself and really did want to help her. That was why he agreed to have her there in the first place. He’d pictured it, standing behind her and fixing her posture. Just another excuse to get closer to her when his crush was just beginning to form. He rubbed his head against her arm, meowing at her.

“It’s alright,” she sighed again, “Let’s get out of here. I should uh… I should get this place cleaned out anyway,” her voice cracked.

Was she really giving up?

They left the room and almost immediately ran into Donna.

“What is that?” she asked.

“This is Aero,” Felicity said, “I found him while I was out,” she shrugged her shoulders.

Donna rolled her eyes, “I suppose that’s alright,” shaking her head, “Don’t forget that your party is going to be soon.”

“Party?” she asked.

Oliver looked between the two women, confused.

“Do not tell me you’ve already forgotten,” Donna chided, “You agreed to this and you’re not going to back out now.”

He had no idea what the hell they were talking about, but he didn’t like it.

“Mom, I don’t want to marry some stranger.”

He tensed up.

“You are not going to marry them right on the spot,” Donna shook her head again, “You’re going to meet some nice young men and hopefully find someone you like at least.”

“Yes, I want to marry someone that I sort of like,” Felicity rolled her eyes this time.

Donna put her hands on her daughter’s shoulders, “This is important, Felicity.”

He hissed at Donna, making her back up a little.

“Aero disagrees,” Felicity held back a laugh.

“You’re not making decisions based on how a cat may or may not feel.”

Oliver growled at her this time.

Throwing her hands up in the air with a frustrated sigh, the older woman walked away from them.

“Find something to wear because I’m moving the date up!” she called to them before completely disappearing out of view.

“My knight in furry armor,” she said, petting him and kissing the top of his head.

That night while Felicity was in the shower, Oliver lay on top of her pillow, waiting for her to return. There was a weight on his chest. A sadness that had twisted its way around his heart. He didn’t want this party to happen, but he didn’t know how to stop it. If he couldn’t get Felicity to see that he was Oliver then there was no hope.

“Don’t be so sad, Kitten,” Isabel’s voice whispered through the air.

The fur on his back stood up straight.

“Did you think I didn’t know where you went?”

He couldn’t see her anywhere, but he could feel her voice. Feel it wrap around him, air tickling his ears as if she were whispering right beside him.

“Come back home.”

He stood, arching his back and hissing.

She chuckled. The sound made his skin crawl.

“Get out of here!” he yowled loudly, “You’re a liar. She loves me and I’m going to figure out how to get my body back.”

Isabel laughed again, “You’re so funny, Kitten. Your plan isn’t going to work. You heard her mother. You’ve got no time. Stop wasting mine and come back home. Be human again with me. There’s no other way.”

“I’ll find a way.”

She tsked him, “You’re not listening.”

A gust of wind caused the bathroom door to crack open further, “Maybe I should have a word with your little princess,” the door continued to open as if a hand were pressing against it.

“Is someone there?” Felicity called from the shower.

“You leave her alone!” Oliver hissed, “She’s done nothing,” he ran to the door, expecting to find her, but he ran through the air and tumbled into the bathroom.

“Oh it’s just you Aero, you startled me,” Felicity laughed.

He scurried out of the room without looking towards the shower, “Where did you go?”

“I’m still here,” she chuckled, “But not for long,” she faked a disappointed sigh, “I’ll leave the princess alone. You’ll come back on your own when you realize she’s nothing but heartache.”

“You’re still a liar,” he looked around the room.

“So you like to think.”

It was quiet for a moment, but there was still a very cold feeling in the room. He looked around, trying to find her. He didn’t understand how she could be there and not be there at the same time. He didn’t understand magic.

“Goodbye, Kitten,” he felt her voice glide over him like needles on his skin.

Then she was gone. He was left standing in the middle of the bed panting heavily. Why couldn’t that woman just leave him alone? All he wanted was to be human and be with Felicity.

“Hey you,” Felicity started to say as she reached out and touched him.

He whipped around, striking her hand with his claws.

“Ouch!” she pulled her hand back, “What the hell?”

He hadn’t meant to… she startled him, but that wasn’t an excuse. She looked down at her bleeding hand with a sigh. Pulling her towel tighter to her body, she started to walk away from him. He sunk down low in the bed, his ears lying flat. If he kept this shit up he was going to get kicked out of the castle before he could figure any of this out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is a little different... i thought it would be fun to write one from Tommy’s point of view. Soooo here we go...

Tommy slept face down, drooling onto his pillow. He felt something tapping his head.

“What?” he grumbled.

More tapping. He sighed, pushing himself up and wiping his face. Who the hell was bothering him this early in the morning? He looked at the clock. It was only nine in the morning for Pete’s sake. He didn’t see anyone there. At least until he looked down. His gaze fell onto Aero, the little black kitten.

“What are you doing in here?”

The cat meowed at him as if he understood what he was saying. He scoffed and laid back down. There was no time to get comfortable because Aero was crawling on top of him this time.

“Why?” he whined loudly.

The kitten moved to lay down in front of him, staring at him with big blue eyes. He had to admit that those eyes seemed familiar. It was stupid to think, but it was true.

“What do you want? If it’s food it’s Felicity you need to be asking.”

Aero shook his head. Tommy narrowed his eyes slightly. There was absolutely no way that the cat had just answered him.

He decided to test it again, “You want something from me?”

Aero meowed and nodded.

“What the fuck,” he scrambled out of bed.

His chest moved up and down heavily. The cat was just staring at him again, waiting for something. Tommy wasn’t sure he wanted any part of this. Either the cat could actually understand him or he was losing his freaking mind.

“You understand me..” he said slowly.

Aero nodded again.

“I’m going crazy aren’t I?” he bent down to tug on a t-shirt since he was only wearing boxers.

Aero shook his head.

“What do you know, you’re a cat.”

He puffed up and meowed loudly. The little thing shook his head yet again. He really didn’t know what to think about this.

“But you are just a cat,” he muttered quietly.

He jumped from the bed and wandered towards his desk. The desk was a cluttered mess because he never used it, but the cat still managed to climb on top of it. He followed him over, waiting for whatever it was going to do next. Aero nuzzled at the crap on his desk and dug out a ratty picture of him and Oliver. It was when they were young. The edges were frayed and it was covered in fingerprints, but he kept it because it meant so much to him. Oliver had always been there for him, especially during the hard times. The picture was taken after his mother died. Oliver was the only one that could bring a smile to his face. He practically lived with him after that, his father became cold and distant with the loss of his wife.

“How did you know that was there?” he asked softly.

Aero placed his pay on Oliver’s face. Tommy looked to the picture and then the cat. Back and forth and back and forth until it finally clicked. He couldn’t believe it.

“Oliver?” he asked.

The cat meowed loudly again.

“Holy shit.”

He found himself actually accepting the news. It was impossible and crazy. He shouldn’t be believing this, but he knew that Oliver wasn’t dead. His best friend was a cat of all things. He didn’t know how it happened, but he knew that he was going to help him find a way to get back to his body.

“Ollie,” he whispered, plucking him from the desk.

He hugged him tightly. Oliver nuzzled his cheek, purring loudly.

“I missed you so much,” his voice cracked.

He couldn’t help it. Oliver dying had nearly destroyed him. He might have let it if it wasn’t for Felicity. They kept each other strong.

“Tommy! Save me, my mother is trying to get me into something puffy,” Felicity shouted as she ran into the room, “What are you doing with my cat?”

“Felicity,” he whipped around, “It’s Oliver!”

“Excuse me?” she took a step back.

Tommy held the cat out to her, “It’s Oliver,” he repeated.

She looked at him as if he were insane, “That’s not funny.”

His smile faltered. Why didn’t she believe him? “I’m not lying, Felicity.”

“How do you expect me to believe that this is Oliver?” she asked.

“Not everything is science and reasonable answers,” he muttered.

She gaped at him.

“I’m serious! Give him a chance to prove it.”

“How?!” she shouted, gesturing wildly.

“Uh…” he looked at Oliver and then back at Felicity, “Give me your tablet.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, “Where’s yours?”

“Oh,” he shook his head, “Right.”

Tommy set Oliver down on the bed and searched for his room quickly to find the tablet.

“You should not be allowed to have any kind of tech,” he heard Felicity mutter quietly.

He rolled his eyes. When he found the thing he turned it on, pulling up a notepad app and put it next to Oliver.

“This is stupid,” she sighed, crossing her arms.

“Just wait.”

Oliver carefully moved his paw across the screen, clicking various buttons. It seemed difficult. His paw was tiny, but that didn’t stop him from clicking the wrong things. He paid more attention to Felicity’s face. Her brow furrowed, her expression changing from annoyed to shocked and confused.

Oliver typed out, _It’s me, Felicity_ in plain english.

“I…” she started to say, “It doesn’t make any sense. I don’t believe it.”

He and Oliver looked at her with pleading eyes.

“I don’t know how you did that… but it’s not funny,” she bolted out of the room.

Tommy sighed heavily and sat back down beside Oliver, “Maybe she needs time or something….” he flopped backwards onto the bed.

Oliver moved to where he could see and nodded.

“I’m glad to have you back, buddy….” he felt weird talking to a cat. No, he felt weird petting his best friend, but how else was he supposed to show affection? This was all very confusing. “I’ll figure out how to get you back to normal.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> how long have i been waiting to write this chapter? too long lmao

“What the hell is wrong with him?” Felicity muttered to herself.

She was hung up on Tommy trying to convince her that Aero was Oliver. It was crazy. Though, she did see with her own two eyes that cat type out a message. Was it dumb luck? Did Tommy manage to train a cat of all things in such a short period of time? Neither of those seemed plausible, but neither did a man being a cat. She refused to believe it.

Her fingers dug into the back of a chair as a handmaiden tugged on the laces of her corset. She did not want to be wearing a dress with a corset, but her mother was insistent. This whole dance with suitors was for Donna not for her.

The corset was tugged tightly, making her feel like her ribs were going to crack under the pressure.

“Does it really have to be that tight?” she asked, gasping for air.

“Yes it does,” Donna walked into the room.

“But I can’t breathe,” she whined.

It was loosened slightly, but not enough to make a huge difference. She rolled her eyes at her mother. It wasn’t like they were living in medieval times.

“You know it’s 2017, right?” she asked, standing up straight.

“I am well aware, but it’s traditional.”

“Some traditions are meant to die,” she said, referring to more than one of these stupid royal traditions.

Donna sighed heavily, “At least try to enjoy yourself tonight.”

As if that was going to happen. Shaking her head, she finished getting ready for the night. Over her corset, she wore a long red dress. It hugged her body, working with the exaggerated hourglass figure she now had. The top low cut, but just enough to flash a little bit of her chest. With her hair pinned up with small diamond clips, she left her shoulders and part of her back on display. She had to admit that she did feel like a gorgeous princess, but it didn’t help her get over the fact she was supposed to be picking her king that night.

Felicity avoided leaving her room for as long as she could, but eventually one of the guards was sent to escort her to the ballroom. When she entered it was quiet, every eye in the room was on her. She bit down on her cherry red lip as she moved further into the room. Before anyone could walk up to her, Tommy slid in front of her still holding Aero.

“You have to listen, Felicity,” he whispered.

She looked from his face and down to the cat in his hands, “We’re not doing this right now.”

“But I’m serious!” he whisper shouted this time, “This is Oliver. He’s been put under a spell.”

“Do you know how crazy you sound?”

“Yes.”

She rolled her eyes and pushed passed him. Why was he doing this to her? She didn’t want to let Oliver go, but she had to.

The first several hours were long ones. She spoke to a Lord Palmer for awhile. He was nice enough, but she didn’t feel a spark between them. Prince Chase was charming and handsome, but there was something about him that she couldn’t put her finger on. Prince after prince spoke to her and pulled her into a dance. No one could make her feel the way that Oliver did.

“Princess,” the Captain of the guards tapped her shoulder, “You have another visitor, shall I let him in?”

She frowned, but nodded, “Go ahead.”

It was late, nearing the end of this little party, so she didn’t understand why someone would be showing up now. She waited until the Captain made an appearance again. He let another male walk past him, tall and wearing a hood to cover his face. When he lifted it off, her mouth fell open.

“Oliver,” she breathed out.

She couldn’t move fast enough. People parted as she ran to him. He opened his arms to her, giving her that smile she had missed so much. The smile that made her heart swell in her chest.

“Oh, Oliver, is it really you?” she asked almost breathlessly.

“Of course.”

She cupped his cheeks, making sure that he was real, “I can’t believe it,” her hands moved to his shoulders.

“Believe it, babe,” he leaned in, cradling the back of her head as he kissed her full on the mouth.

Her eyes went wide for a moment, but she pushed the shock away and kissed him back. She had imagined kissing him a hundred times before, but this didn’t fit any of her fantasies. It was strange. He was a little rough, not very passionate, it didn’t feel like Oliver. But she supposed she didn’t know how he kissed, so she was just being silly. She finally had Oliver back and she wasn’t going to let him go this time.

* * *

Oliver sighed heavily in Tommy’s grasp. He knew this situation was completely unbelievable, but he desperately needed Felicity to believe. Somehow he knew she was the one that was going to end this. She was so smart there had to be a way for her to figure it out. He wanted to be with her, wanted to be human again, and hug his sister.

Speaking of…

Thea came up to Tommy. She was looking a little happier than the last few times he’d seen her. Her little fingers reached towards him to scratch behind his ears. He purred loudly, causing a wide smile to pull at her lips.

“He likes me,” the thirteen year old giggled.

“Nope,” Tommy said, “He loves you… a lot.”

He licked her thumb gently.

“I love you too,” she leaned in and kissed the top of his head.

“You should probably get to bed, kiddo,” Tommy added.

She rolled her eyes at him, “I’m practically an adult, you know.”

“Mhmm,” he shooed her away.

Oliver sighed again, watching her leave. The party had barely begun, but he knew that Thea needed to be away from all this nonsense. He still couldn’t believe that this was happening. Everything suddenly went quiet. He sat up straight, looking for the cause. His eyes fell upon Felicity. She was stunning. A vision of beauty. To him she was always the most beautiful woman in the room. This was just… something else.

Again, Tommy tried to reason with her, but she wouldn’t believe. He had to watch her dance and talk with other men all night. It made his heart hurt. Why couldn’t she just believe Tommy? Why did it have to be so hard?

When the night was drawing to a close, he felt the tiniest bit of hope because it seemed that she didn’t like any of the men that had been hitting on her.

And then his hope was shattered.

“What the hell?” Tommy whispered.

Oliver climbed up to his shoulder and looked in the same direction as Tommy, “That’s not me,” he meowed loudly, “That’s not me!”

Isabel.

Tommy made his way towards Felicity and the fake Oliver just in time for the man to kiss Felicity.

He hissed loudly, causing them to part.

“Who the hell are you?” Tommy snapped.

“Tommy….” Felicity started, frowning at him.

“It’s alright,” not Oliver said, “I know it’s been awhile,” he had a sickening smirk as he kissed Felicity again.

Oliver growled and lunged at him. The fake swung his hand, knocking him out of the air before he could even get a single claw in. He hit the ground with a hard thud. With shaky legs, he pushed himself up again as Tommy came running over.

“Oliver,” Felicity exclaimed.

“I hate cats,” he muttered, “Let’s go, babe, I think your friend and cat need some air.”

“Wh-what… he’s your friend too…” she stammered, “And you can’t just hit animals like that, Oliver… are you listening to me?”

The fake wrapped his arm around Felicity and dragged her off in the opposite direction.

“Are you okay?” Tommy asked, lifting him up.

He nodded slowly.

“Dude, lets get you some water. That guy… whoever the hell he is can wait a second,” Tommy started down a dark corridor.

It was weirdly empty for as many people as there were in the castle at the moment. And extremely quiet. Well, he could hear the party still going on behind them. He could hear people exclaiming excitement over the impostor. What the hell was even happening?

“There you are,” a familiar and unwanted voice said.

“Who the hell…” Tommy muttered.

“Let me introduce myself,” Isabel seemingly appeared out of nowhere and pressed Tommy into a wall, “I’m Isabel and I’m here to take back what’s mine.”

Tommy held onto him tighter.

“Give me the cat,” she said, digging claws into Tommy’s shoulder.

“No,” he squeaked.

“Oliver, come to me or I’m going to turn your little friend into a fish… and leave him right here to suffocate.”

He scrambled out of Tommy’s grasp. As much as he didn’t want to go with her, he wasn’t going to let something horrible happen to his best friend. Isabel held her hand out for him to jump in.

“Don’t,” Tommy said.

“Why shouldn’t he? His princess doesn’t need him anymore,” she laughed.

“Because he doesn’t belong to you,” he hugged Oliver to his chest.

“I think your friend wants to be a dead fish,” she smirked.

Oliver bit down on his hand roughly. Tommy yelped and let go. Isabel swooped in quickly and grabbed onto him.

“Now go,” she waved Tommy away back towards the party.

The witch held onto him tightly, a lot more so than was probably necessary. She muttered about him finally coming around, marrying her, and being hers forever. He didn’t want any of it. But he only had the tiniest scrap of hope that Tommy would finally convince Felicity.

* * *

Felicity crossed her arms as Oliver seemed to revel in the attention he was getting. There was something off about it. He was more worried about the people in the party than her or even Thea. He hadn’t asked about his little sister once. And he was so handsy. He kept touching her in ways that he hadn’t before.

They had never so much as kissed before that night, let alone admit that they had feelings of any kind for each other. Yet, he wasn’t acting that way. She didn’t want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but she wanted Oliver back… and there was something about him that wasn’t Oliver at all. She could have assumed that he went through a lot while he was away and it changed him, but this was a complete 180.

“I’m just happy to be back in the arms of my girl,” he pulled her close again, letting his hand slide down to squeeze her ass for the third time.

She pulled away from him, “I need some air.”

This man, this animal hating, egotistical, can’t keep his hands to himself, guy was not someone that she wanted to marry. But she didn’t want anyone other than Oliver. She was so confused.

“Felicity,” Tommy ran towards her as she was leaving the party.

“Not now,” she started to say.

He cut in and put his hands on her shoulders, “Listen to me,” he was more serious than she had ever seen him before, “That man is not Oliver. He’s a fake. The real Oliver is a cat and you need to believe me. Please,” his lip trembled, “A witch has him. I know it sounds crazy, I know it does, but I’m telling the truth. He’s cursed and he’s been taken again.”

She stared at him, letting his words sink in. If this was true. If it were really true it was the craziest thing she had ever heard. But the Oliver that she had spent the last thirty or so minutes with was not the man she loved.

“Please,” he begged.

“What are we doing to do?” she asked.

“What?” he leaned back.

“What are we going to do to get our boy back?”

He smiled wide and hugged her tightly.

“What’s going on here?” the impostor asked, walking in on them in the hallway. 

She looked at Tommy and he nodded. Both of them thinking the same damn thing. They grabbed onto him, each taking an arm and pressing him into the stone wall.

“Take us to Isabel,” Felicity hissed.

He laughed, “Babe, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I’m not playing,” she said, “Take me to the witch.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tell me what you think! (comments and messages feed the starving muse)
> 
> tumblr: felicityollies  
> twitter: gothlicitys


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [squeaks] so close to the end. // This chapter features an action-y fight scene.... but they are not my forte so if it sucks I apologize.

Felicity followed the fake Oliver. It only took a little more convincing before he actually decided to help her and Tommy. They left the party without being seen, each carrying weapons just in case. She had no idea what she was getting herself into, but she did know that she would do anything to get Oliver back.

They walked for what seemed like miles. She started to wonder if this guy was really showing her the right way.

“You better not be leading us the wrong way,” she muttered.

“Chill, babe,” he said, “We’re almost there.”

“Stop calling me babe,” she snapped.

He rolled his eyes at her.

Tommy shoved his hand into his back, “Take us there faster.”

They made it to the edge of her kingdom and near a wooded area. It was close to where the car accident happened. The accident that wasn’t actually an accident. He led them further into the trees until they came upon a clearing. A large brick house sat in the middle. It took her a moment to realize it was the same one that she had seen when she found Oliver. Did this woman just pick up her entire house and drop it wherever? What the hell.

The little pond was there and everything.

“Dramatic,” she muttered, mostly to herself.

“There she is,” Tommy squeaked.

Felicity saw the woman. She held onto Oliver, tightly squeezing him in her hands. Before she could stop herself, she started running towards them.

“You leave him alone!” she shouted.

“Well, it looks like you get to watch your girlfriend and your friends die tonight,” the witch said.

She held up her hand, stopping Felicity in her tracks. Her feet felt like they were glued to the spot. Oliver bit down onto her hand and scratched at her arm.

“Son of a bitch,” she threw him to the ground near two other animals.

Were those his friends? The dog that had thrown her phone and the bird that she was pretty sure tried to attack her. But… if they were human like Oliver then they had just been trying to get them out of harm’s way. She was going to save them too.

“How did you even get down here…” she started to say, when her gaze flickered behind Felicity and to the two men, “Cooper, you useless waste of oxygen.”

Tommy seemed to evade her gaze. Her attention was completely on Cooper. She raised her hand, bringing him to his knees. The spell on him disappeared, showing his true form. He gasped and choked in front of Felicity. The witch used her magic to steal the air right from his lungs until he collapsed on the ground.

“I have no time for insolence,” she turned her attention back to Felicity, “Now, I will give you one chance to leave here unharmed. Go and forget that you ever saw him. He and his kingdom are mine.”

Felicity spit in her face. There was no way that she was going to leave Oliver behind. She didn’t care if she was putting herself in danger.

Isabel growled. Hauling her hand back, she scratched her across the face, leaving several long and bloody marks on her cheek. Felicity stumbled back onto the ground. Of course, the witch only let up on the magic when it would allow her to fall on her ass.

“Should I turn you into a mouse, perhaps? Feed you to a snake….or to something else,” Isabel’s eyes moved to Oliver for just a quick second.

“You’re sick,” she scrambled backwards, which was harder than it should have been, but she was still wearing the damn dress. It was a little torn now and she made Tommy slice into the corset before they left, but it didn’t help. She dug a knife out from the sheath on her ankle.

Isabel raised her hand again, but before she could do the spell she was attacked by all three animals. Oliver at her ankles, the dog went for her wrist, and the owl went for a headshot.

“Why you little,” she flailed her arms and whacked them away.

Felicity got to her feet just as Isabel shoved the animals away with magic. She gripped onto her dagger tightly. Without giving it another thought, she ran at Isabel. She seemed at least a little surprised by the action because they both fell into the pond. Part of her was really hoping that contact with water would melt Isabel, but no such luck.

She lost the knife in the struggle in the water. Isabel threw her backwards, she hit the ground with a hard thud. The air getting knocked right out of her.

“I have had just about enough of you, little girl,” she got out of the water, lifting her fingers and aiming right for her heart.

“No!” Tommy lunged in front of Felicity. The magic hit him instead.

He crumpled to the ground in a heap. His body shook and shivered until he shrank down into a tiny black mouse. He left behind a quiver and a bow he had been carrying around.

“You got lucky once,” Isabel said wiping water from her face, “It will not happen again.”

Felicity watched with wide eyes as the witch began to change. Her eyes turned a bright red, her body began to twist and contort as she became something else.

“Shit, shit, shit,” she muttered, grabbing onto the bow and quiver with shaky hands.

Isabel’s transformation was almost complete. She was a beast. A monster. Her appearance finally matched her hideous insides. She was a large bat-like creature. Isabel took herself higher into the air, threatening to dive bomb Felicity.

“Giant bat-thing, shit…” she carefully and quickly moved as to not step on anyone on accident.

She nocked an arrow and aimed upwards. Isabel was suddenly out of sight.

“How does a giant bat-thing hide,” the eighteen year old whined, “Seriously.”

The creature came from behind, knocking her forward and making her lose her grip on her weapon. She was just toying with her now, but why? Felicity crawled towards her bow and arrow, picking them up, and getting ready again. She pushed herself up on her knees, watching for the monster. It was another minute or so before she appeared again.

Felicity aimed and fired, catching her wing. Isabel let out a screech that made a shiver run down her spine. Her fingers were trembling something fierce as she nocked another arrow. Isabel came swooping down lower this time, but she wasn’t aiming for Felicity. Instead she grabbed Oliver’s tiny body in her claws.

“If you think I’m not going to shoot you now,” she muttered.

Of course she was worried about hurting Oliver, but what other choice did she have? She didn’t. It was either shoot or let the bitch kill her, three more people, and keep Oliver captive. Nuh uh, no way. She was not going to let that happen. 

Felicity pulled back on the bow string, “Please. Please. Please.”

She released it as soon as Isabel got close enough. The arrow flew through the air. It felt like she was watching it in slow motion. She kept her eyes on it as it shifted just slightly with the wind. But then it hit. The arrow struck her in the chest. Isabel dropped Oliver’s already limp figure several feet above the ground.

“No,” she whispered, pushing herself up.

She knew it was going to happen, but nothing could prepare her for watching him drop like a rag doll. Felicity scrambled to her feet just as Isabel hit the ground with a thud.

“Oh god, Oliver,” she ran to him, holding onto her sopping wet dress as she did.

A light washed over him as she got closer. She didn’t stop. Didn’t care that the light hurt her eyes. As the light faded it revealed that he was himself again. Her lip trembled. Kneeling down beside him, she ran her fingers through his hair.

“Please be okay,” she whispered, resting her head against his chest. She could hear a subtle heartbeat, “Please, I love you. I’m sorry that it took me so long to save you. Please.”

A few tears rolled down her face and onto him. She heard movement, but didn’t lift her head to see what was happening.

“Oliver,” she sniffled.

“You love me,” he breathed out the words.

“What?” she lifted her head to look down at him.

He laughed, which was followed by a cough, “You love me.”

She gave a frustrated groan and buried her face in his chest, “You’re such an idiot,” she said, but she couldn’t stop the grin that was forming on her face.

“Not to be ungrateful,” said an unfamiliar voice, “But can we get the hell out of here?”

She looked up, meeting the gazes of two men. They both looked very battered, bruised, and dirty.

“Of course,” she said.

“What Rene also wants to say is, thank you,” the older of the two said, “I’m Diggle.”

“A pleasure to meet you both.”

Tommy helped Oliver to his feet. They were pretty sure that he had a lot of bruising and probably a broken rib or two, but he was safe. Rene and Diggle were safe and human again. They could finally return to their families.

“Wait,” she said as they were about to leave.

She walked towards Isabel’s body, which had turned back to what it was. All the magic around them had dissolved into nothingness. No pond, no big house, nothing. She lay there with an arrow through the arm and chest. Blood trickled from her mouth. At least she thought it was blood, it was more black than red. Reaching down, she checked her pulse. No sound.

“I just wanted to make sure she was dead,” she whispered.

“Let’s go home,” Oliver said.

She nodded and turned towards all of them. Her eyes moved over Diggle and Rene again, “You two look vaguely familiar.”

“We were security detail for the prince’s family. Isabel took us when we wouldn’t let her into the castle. Part of the curse she placed on us was making everyone forget we even existed… but if you’re remembering when I only saw you a couple times maybe my wife and daughter will too.”

“Mine too,” Rene mumbled.

“You know,” Tommy said, “It wasn’t that bad being a mouse.”

Everyone stared at him for a moment before giving a collective, “Shut up.”

* * *

Oliver woke with a start. He’d been having a nightmare about Isabel and for a moment he was scared that he was back in her grasp. His heart pounded hard in his chest. He thought it was so loud that someone else could hear it. Swallowing thickly, he closed his eyes for a few moments. A deep breath and he opened them again. His gaze moved to the woman beside him. Felicity slept peacefully. She was so beautiful.

“I am here. I am safe. I am human,” he said softly.

Only having been human for a couple days, he had to keep reminding himself that it was okay.

Felicity’s hand found his, squeezing tightly, “You’re here. You’re safe. You’re human. And I love you,” she mumbled sleepily.

“I didn’t mean to wake you,” he whispered.

“It’s okay,” she blinked her eyes open and brought his hand to her lips, kissing his knuckles.

He let out a soft sigh of relief. This woman had been there his entire life and he couldn’t understand why it took him so long to realize how wonderful she was. Her heart was so big, she was smarter than everyone he knew, and the icing on the cake was that she was just as beautiful on the outside as she was on the inside.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked quietly.

“How wonderful you are and how dumb I am.”

She giggled, “Stop, you’re not dumb.”

“I am. I should have told you I love you forever ago.”

“We were both dumb then,” she leaned over and kissed him.

He closed his eyes and relaxed even further, “I do love you so much, Felicity.”

The pulled apart and he looked deep into her eyes.

“I don’t want anyone else. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to build a kingdom with you, protect our people, and maybe one day have a family with you.”

“It’s three in the morning and you’re going to make me cry,” she sniffled, her eyes already getting glassy.

He smiled wide, “I mean it. I love you more than anything… will you marry me?”

“God yes!” she moved as fast as a person could at the early hours of the morning.

She kissed him full on the lips, wrapping her arm around him, “I’ve been waiting for you to ask me.”

“I was going to ask you the night I was take,” he said, resting his forehead against hers.

“I knew it.”

He chuckled, “Okay, maybe you’re a little too smart.”

“No such thing,” she returned his laugh with a giggle.

He wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. Never in his life had he been so happy. He had his life back, he was able to wrap his arms around his little sister and give her a hug and reassure her that everything was alright, and now he could lay with the love of his life, his soon-to-be wife.

Felicity snored quietly having fallen back asleep. He laughed quietly and kissed the top of her head. It seemed safe to let himself drift back into sleep. Even if he had nightmares, she was there to keep him safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!
> 
> tumblr: felicityollies  
> twitter: gothlicitys


	12. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are! The end of the story. I'm so thrilled by the response this story got and thankful that y'all stuck with it to the end. 
> 
> Thank you and enjoy!

**_4 weeks later…._ **

“You know, I meant every word that I said,” Oliver spoke sweetly as he unzipped his wife’s wedding dress, letting it fall and pool at her feet, “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. Your smarts and killer aim.”

He kissed her shoulder blades.

“I don’t remember the part about my shooting being in the vows,” she giggled.

“Mmm I was told discussing murder in my wedding vows wasn’t very romantic.”

She giggled again, “Maybe.”

He kissed across her shoulders again, “That was some amazing shooting.”

“You were unconscious,” she tilted her head back to look at him.

“It had to be amazing to take her down like that… you practiced.”

“I did,” she smiled and gently kissed his lips.

Before it could get any deeper, she pulled away and moved to the bed. She kicked off her heels and started to get rid of the rest of her clothing. He watched her for a moment, drinking in her appearance. Never in his life had he been so happy. He was finally married to the love of his life and they had the most beautiful ceremony.

All their closest friends and family. John and Rene were even there. They had been giving their jobs back with higher rankings. It was so nice to see them in the audience with their daughters and wives.

The only thing that would have made the wedding better was his mother being there, but they did leave a seat empty for her.

“You still with me?” she asked, crossing her legs.

He smiled and nodded, “Yep.”

She was completely nude now. A vision of beauty. He struggled not to just rip his clothing off of his body. This was their first time. He didn’t know how both of them managed to wait until after the wedding, because god he knew they both wanted to be with each other. Part of him was nervous, though. He’d never been with anyone like this.

He had thought about it before, but in the back of his mind he knew that someday he would be with Felicity. That was always the plan. It had pissed him off when he was younger. He didn’t get to choose who he wanted to be with. There was a plan already set forth for him, but as he got older he realized he didn’t mind so much. By the time he was old enough to even know what sex was he was already crushing on her. Sometimes he wondered if their parents just knew or if it had all been some serious dumb luck.

Oliver kicked away his boxers and climbed into bed with Felicity, “Are you sure you still want to do this? We don’t have to tonight.”

“Oliver, I want to be with you,” she said.

“Okay, good,” he smiled and leaned in to kiss her.

His hands moved up her body. Her skin was so soft and delicate. He cupped her breast, squeezing gently and massaging the mound of flesh. She groaned into the kiss, which spurred him on even more. He wanted this to be memorable for both of them, but he was worrying about hurting her or making things awkward.

“Stop,” she said.

“What?” he leaned back.

“Stop worrying,” she leaned in brushing her nose against his, “I can tell when you’re freaking out.”

He pouted, but nuzzled her back, “I don’t want to mess up.”

“Even if we mess up we have many many many more chances to get it right,” she kissed his lower lip.

He smiled, “I like the sound of that.”

Still, he took things slow. They kissed, their hands wandered, exploring each other for the first time. Her forehead knocked into his at one point as they were adjusting position. All they could do was laugh and keep going. He realized that there wasn’t any reason to be nervous. Being with her like this was easy. He loved her so much and all he wanted was to make her feel good.

When he was completely hard and she wet and ready for him, he slowly started to penetrate her. He hoped to god that he would last more than a couple minutes. Or seconds. But she was so warm and tight. He’d never felt anything like it. Her walls gripped him in the most perfect way. He was careful, though. Only moving when she said it was okay.

“Are you okay?” he asked when his hips met hers.

She nodded, “I just need a moment.”

“Okay,” he leaned down and kissed her neck while she adjusted to the feeling.

His lips brushed against a spot below her ear, causing her to give a small moan. He kissed at the spot again. And then nipped and sucked.

“Oh, that feels so good,” she groaned, “Mmm I’m ready.”

He nodded, pulling out so he could thrust back in. Oliver kept a slow and careful pace. He bit down on his lip hard, trying not to cum already.

“I don’t know how long I’m going to last,” he pouted.

“It’s okay,” she breathed out.

He kept moving as she slipped her fingers down between them. A thin layer of sweat formed on his skin. He was doing his damnedest, but then he felt it. Felicity’s walls clenching around his cock.

“Oh god,” he groaned.

“Fuck,” she whined, “Don’t stop.”

He thrust over and over. Her body tugged him in deeper.

“Shit,” his thighs started to shake.

She trembled underneath him, reaching the height of her climax. His cock throbbed inside of her, coating her walls in his sticky cum. Panting heavily, he pulled out and moved to lie down beside her. He watched her, trying to catch her breath. She was practically glowing. Her skin flushed pink and god she was beautiful. She rolled towards him, snuggling up to his side.

“That was amazing,” she mumbled.

“It was,” he breathed out, “I love you.”

“I love you too, Kitten,” she giggled as she looked up into his eyes.

The nickname gave him pause, but only for a moment. There was something sweet about it coming out of her mouth. She didn’t mean it the same way Isabel had. It wasn’t supposed to be condescending.

But instead of letting her know he actually kind of liked it, he grumbled under his breath and pouted.

She giggled again, “Whether you like it or not, you’re my Kitten,” she teased, kissing his chest.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he finally returned her smile, “Only for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!
> 
> And, since I've finished a story that means I have more time to update something else! I've already decided to continue working on my high school au "Hey Juliet" on top of "Trust Me" but if there's something else someone wants to see don't be afraid to swing by my tumblr page and let me know!
> 
> tumblr: felicityollies  
> twitter: gothlicitys


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